Joe Biden: Why Does he Need to Leave the House? A House Democrat Critique of a Sensitive Candidate

Biden blamed his poor debate performance on exhaustion, and insisted that medical checkups prior to the debate found “no indication of a serious condition.” Biden said that he was sick before the debate and that he had a bad cold.

Multiple Democrats have told NPR that they are frustrated it took Biden days to call top congressional leaders and sit down for a televised interview, and that they are frustrated he’s not getting the message about how serious lawmakers’ concerns are about the political fallout from the debate.

President Biden’s widely panned performance in the debate against GOP presumptive nominee Donald Trump prompted five House Democrats to go public with their calls for him to step aside as the 2024 presidential nominee. Many people want him to leave, fearing that he could upend Democrats’ chances of staying in control of the Senate.

Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York is the top Democrat on the Judiciary committee.

The virtual meeting was an opportunity for top Democrats in the House to convene before lawmakers return to Capitol Hill on Monday. Top leaders have generally avoided taking a position on Biden’s future as members grapple with a president and a party at a crucial crossroads.

One House Democrat, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly about internal party discussions, said worries mounted when it was reported that Biden may not do events after 8 p.m. The member added that Democrats don’t have much time for Biden to leave if he ultimately choses to do so but time is running out for a graceful exit.

Wilson said that any leader calling for Biden to leave needs to be straight with their priorities and not undermine the actual leader. When we compare it with a dangerous figure like Donald Trump who wants to kill our democracy, we must do everything possible to defeat him.

Indeed, many Democrats are still publicly supporting Biden, even as anxiety grows within their ranks. The issue is causing panic within the party just over a month before their August nominating convention in Chicago.

There have been no calls to Biden to leave the race so far, despite rumors of a meeting led by Warner.

“I think Joe Biden did a good job in the interview, but I don’t know if the answers to those questions were enough,” he said. “So I think this week is going to be absolutely critical. I think the president needs to do more.”

A rush deadline is when NPR’s transcripts are created. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Do we really need someone to run for president? NPR’s Juana Sommers: When President Biden hasn’t been honest about his health care situation

SMITH: So I’m not saying he is. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t go there. And look, you know, this – you know, this comment about the elites, it was the party. They’re not elites. It is the party.

SMITH: Two things, the debate was the tipping point. President Biden was older when he was elected the first time. And there was some – you know, he kind of alluded, you know, I’m going to be a bridge. I was wondering if that was really going to work when he began talking about running again. But then he decided to run. I’m like, okay, he’s in. No one else is running. Let’s go. But then the debate performance, really – you know, look, that wasn’t just a bad night.

The summer is over. I want to hear what you have to say. You said that – I’m paraphrasing you – that the president has not been honest about his health care situation.

Smith: I believe he should bring in an independent physician to give him a health checkup, given what happened in the debate and how much commentary there was. It’s time for him to release that information publicly. By the way, Donald Trump should do the same thing.

NPR’s Juana Summers talks with Washington Congressman Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee and one of the people publicly calling on President Biden to get out of the race.

Smith: Sure. I mean, I think it starts with the fact that I think Democrats have a great message, this cycle. We have a good record to run on. President Biden has done a good job as president. He has made improvements to the economy, you know what I’m talking about. The Democrats have done a good job in passing the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Act. There’s a wonderful record to run on. Donald Trump is a threat to this country. Project 25 is a great primer on what that threat is.

SUMMERS: If President Biden is not the right choice, who should be the party’s nominee? Should it be the president or vice president?

SMITH: I think yes. I think Kamala Harris, you know, particularly in the last two years, has really been strong. She spoke about reproductive health care for women at the Security Conference. She’s been there. She’s delivered the speech forcefully. I think she’s shown herself to be capable of delivering a message with great strength. But, you know, we got at least a couple dozen really talented people with great resumes and ability out there, and it’s ultimately up to the delegates at the convention if President Biden releases them. I would support Harris, but I wouldn’t accept the decision of the delegates.

SMITH: That is President Joe Biden’s fault exclusively, that we are focused on that. He was the person who said it all the time. He was the only one on that debate stage with Donald Trump. There is a reason that people are talking about this. And frankly, it’s offensive that he doesn’t take responsibility for that, that he tries to throw it back at us. He’s the one who hasn’t been transparent and honest about his health care situation, and he’s the one who has not been capable of delivering the message in an effective and clear way. That’s why we are focused on the issue – because of the way he is running his campaign. So yeah, I guess we could just tell the American people, don’t worry about the president’s health. Don’t worry about the fact that he can’t communicate a message and try and ignore it. I just – I don’t think that would be a winning strategy.

Source: Why Democratic Rep. Adam Smith thinks Biden isn’t the right party pick for this moment

A Different Form of Transparent and Honesty in Noncommutative Quantum Mechanics, Part II: On the Contribution of SMITH to ‘Measurement and Constraints’

SMITH: OK? Transparent is an entirely different thing than honest. Maybe it’s OK, but they’re not letting us see so that we can independently be sure. It’s a different form of honesty than honest.