President Joe Biden should step aside and allow another Democrat to take his spot for the November election.
That was the message from numerous liberal pundits, Democratic operatives, donors, and now one Democratic member of Congress, following the disastrous presidential debate last week. The New York Times, in its editorial calling on Biden to drop out of the race, said "he failed his own test" and is engaged in "a reckless gamble."
But the two most vulnerable Democratic senators, Jon Tester (Mont.) and Sherrod Brown (Ohio), are conspicuously silent on whether the most unpopular president in modern history, according to polls, should be at the top of the ticket in November.
Spokespersons for both men did not respond to a request for comment and neither senator has offered an opinion on the debate performance, which has prompted a sea of speculation about the future of Biden’s political career. Both their X accounts, in contrast to the frenzy from various other lawmakers and pundits, are instead dedicated to generic campaign messages about Brown’s commitment to "the dignity of work" and Tester’s warm wishes for "a great weekend."
Ohio and Montana are top targets for Republicans. The two men represent states former president Donald Trump won handily in 2016 and 2020 and both have attempted to distance themselves from Biden far before the debate.
It is not clear whether that strategy is paying off just yet. Both Tester and Brown are some of Biden’s most reliable votes in the Senate, according to FiveThirtyEight, and not one public poll has found either man breaking 50 percent against their Republican opponents—a red flag for their reelection prospects.
Tester appeared to concede that former president Donald Trump may very well win a second term when asked by a local news outlet. In his response to a question about whether Biden should drop out, a spokesperson for Tester said the senator has "always worked with President Trump when it was good for Montana and stands up to President Biden when it doesn’t work for Montana. He’ll do whatever it takes to defend Montana regardless of who is in the White House."
Brown, meanwhile, declined to comment when asked by a local news anchor and instead he said, "my focus is on my job, that means fighting for women’s rights, it means, and focus on this campaign and the contrast between me and [my Republican opponent] Bernie Moreno and that will continue to be my focus."
Those answers are not going to cut it, according to the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Biden’s debate performance has triggered a new campaign message, as well as a massive opportunity for the group.
The NRSC has been blasting out press releases to journalists ever since June 28, the night of the debate, hammering Senate Democrats for their equivocation on Biden’s decision to stay in the race. Most polls conducted after the debate show the president’s support dropping among voters and a vast majority of voters believing he does not have the mental fitness to stay in the race.
"Joe Biden just gave the most shocking debate performance in modern history but Jon Tester and Sherrod Brown refuse to admit the obvious: Biden is unfit to be president," said a national GOP strategist with ties to several Republican Senate candidates. "Tester and Brown are diehard liberal Democrats who will do anything for the party—even if it means lying to their constituents."
The NRSC has also released a digital ad that features vulnerable Democratic senators previously defending Biden’s mental acuity and pledging their support for his reelection while cutting to some of Biden’s more embarrassing debate moments. In one clip, Tester said: "I’ve been around [Biden] and when I’ve seen him on the news, he’s 100 percent with it … he’s fine."
"I think every party has a problem," Brown says in a clip from a CNN interview after he is asked whether he is worried about Democrats having a "Joe Biden problem."
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