The Fourth of July weekend should be crucial for president Joe Biden as he seeks to reassure panicked Democrats that he remains capable of winning re-election and serving another term.
The 81-year-old president set off alarms last week in his first debate against Donald Trump, where he appeared hesitant and frail, and some Democrats have already come forward to say publicly that he should step aside, and CNN's Sunlen Serfaty reported that party leaders convened a call to discuss the rapidly unfolding situation.
"Top Democrats on Capitol Hill, they are certainly feeling and hearing this panic from their members, and they're essentially trying to take stock of this moment," Serfaty said. "There was a conference call last night convened by House Democratic leadership, where they heard from many top Democrats and there was, according to a source familiar with this call, really this split. There were some Democrats that were very vocal and saying they want Biden to go, that they think it's time for Biden to go, but then there was also a lot of concern voiced about those that said there would be a frenzy and worried about the frenzy that would break out if that actually happened, and what that would do to the party in that moment of chaos."
"Now, notably on this call, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, whose voice here has so much sway with so many members, he did not express his opinion on what he thinks should happen, so that important to note here," Serfaty added. "Now as all this, though, is playing out behind closed doors as they tried to plot the strategy going forward, we are hearing from more more and more Democrats publicly speaking out against the president continuing."
Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) became the second sitting House Democrat to call for Biden to resign, following Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), and Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) and Rep. Seth Mouton (D-MA) have each expressed concerns about the president's age and stamina but said Biden could put some fears to rest in his scheduled interview on ABC News and during weekend campaign events.
"A source on Capitol Hill also reflects that sentiment that a lot of House Democrats are feeling, 'Let's see how this interview goes, let's see how he does on the campaign trail in Wisconsin,' and they're using the next few days to kind of make up their mind," Serfaty said. "A source says that this is going to be an inflection point of sorts when the House Democrats come back to Washington after the holiday weekend, after all this plays out on the campaign trail."
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