Biden’s TV interview fails to quell re-election concerns among lawmakers, donors and strategists

President
Joe
Biden
did
not
assuage
Democratic
anxieties
about
his
2024
reelection
bid
against
former
President

Donald
Trump
during
a
highly-anticipated

ABC
News
interview
on
Friday
night,
his
first
televised
interview
since
his
fumbling

debate
performance
in
June.

On
Saturday,
House
Rep.
Angie
Craig,
D-Minn.,
officially
called
on
Biden
to
bow
out
of
the
presidential
race.

“This
is
not
a
decision
I’ve
come
to
lightly,
but
there
is
simply
too
much
at
stake
to
risk
a
second
Donald
Trump
presidency,”
Craig
said
in
a

statement
on
Saturday
morning.
“That’s
why
I
respectfully
call
on
President
Biden
to
step
aside
as
the
Democratic
nominee
for
a
second
term
as
President
and
allow
for
a
new
generation
of
leaders
to
step
forward.”

Craig
is
now
the
fifth
House
Democrat
to
call
on
Biden
to
exit.
Rep. Mike
Quigley,
D-Il.,
made
his
own
announcement
during
an

MSNBC
interview
Friday,
just
before
the
full
ABC
News
22-minute
interview
aired.

They
join
a
growing
choir
of
Democratic
lawmakers,
donors
and
strategists
losing
faith
in
Biden’s
ability
to
wage
a
successful
campaign
against
Trump.
Reps.
Lloyd
Doggett,
D-Tx.
Raúl
Grijalva,
D-Ariz.
and
Seth
Moulton,
D-Mass.
have
also
publicly
called
on
Biden
to
step
down.

“The
president
is
rightfully
proud
of
his
record,”
said

David
Axelrod,
who
served
as
a
senior
advisor
to
former
President
Barack
Obama,
after
the
ABC
News
interview
aired.
“But
he
is
dangerously
out-of-touch
with
the
concerns
people
have
about
his
[capacities]
moving
forward
and
his
standing
in
this
race.”

Earlier
this
week,
former
Democratic
House
Speaker

Nancy
Pelosi
and
Rep.
Jim
Clyburn,
D-S.C.,
some
of
Biden’s
closest
allies,
publicly
validated
concerns
about
Biden’s
fitness
for
reelection.
Pelosi,
for
example,
said
it
was
“legitimate”
to
ask
whether
Biden’s
debate
performance
was
simply
a
one-off
episode
or
representative
of
a
more
long-term
condition.

Both
Pelosi
and
Clyburn
noted
that
they
still
support
the
president
as
he
vies
for
a
second
term.

On
Wednesday,

Biden
held
a
host
of
calls
and
meetings,
including
with
Pelosi,
Clyburn
and
a
gathering
of
Democratic
governors
to
try
and
reassure
his
concerned
supporters.

While
the
list
of
Democrats
stepping
forward
with
their
qualms
about
Biden
grows,
much
of
the
panic
is
playing
out
behind
closed
doors.

Several
Democratic
lawmakers
and
their
staff
spoke
to
NBC
News
anonymously
Friday
night
and
Saturday
morning,
doubling
down
on
their
concerns
about
Biden
even
after
the
ABC
News
interview.

House
Minority
Leader
Hakeem
Jeffries,
D-N.Y.,
is
working
to
organize
a
Sunday
virtual
meeting
of
Democratic
committee
ranking
members
where
Biden
will
likely
be
a
topic
of
discussion,

NBC
News
reported.

On
the
other
side
of
Capitol
Hill,
Sen.
Mark
Warner,
D-Va.,
is
trying
to
convene
a
meeting
of
Democratic
senators
next
week
to
talk
about
Biden’s
reelection
concerns
and
the
impact
it
might
have
on
down-ballot
races,
according
to
the
NBC
News
report.

Meanwhile,
the

donor
class
has
been
sounding
its
own
alarm
bells
on
Biden.

“We
need
to
move
beyond
the
gerontocracy!!”
Galaxy
CEO

Michael
Novogratz,
a
crypto
billionaire
and
Democratic
donor,
posted
on
social
media
Saturday
morning.
“We
need
to
sweep
the
floor
of
the
team
that’s
been
in
charge
the
past
30
years
and
pass
the
reigns!!
It’s
time.”

Novogratz
previously
backed
the
campaign
of
long-shot
Democratic
challenger
Rep.
Dean
Phillips,
D-Minn.,
before
he
dropped
out
of
the
race.

But
Novogratz
is
part
of
a
swelling
wave
of
Democratic
donors
losing
support
for
Biden.
Some
of
them,
like
Disney
heiress
Abigail
Disney,
have
embargoed
their
future
donations
to
the
party
until
the
president
bows
out
of
the
race,

CNBC
previously
reported.

A
flurry
of
polls
including
from
the

New
York
Times/Siena
College
and
the

Wall
Street
Journal
have
found
Biden
losing
ground
against
Trump
following
his
debate
flop
on
June
27.
His
debate
performance
has
been
remembered
mostly
for
moments
where
he
tripped
over
his
words,
failed
to
piece
together
coherent
sentences
at
times
or
spontaneously
paused
mid-answer
appearing
to
gather
his
thoughts.

“It
was
a
bad
episode.
No
indication
of
any
serious
condition.
I
was
exhausted.
I
didn’t
listen
to
my
instincts
in
terms
of
preparing
and
a
bad
night,”
Biden
told
ABC
News’
George
Stephanopoulos
during
the
Friday
interview.

The
president
added
staunchly
that
he
is
not
planning
to
drop
out
of
the
2024
race.

“If
the
Lord
Almighty
came
down
and
said,
‘Joe,
get
out
of
the
race,’
I’d
get
out
of
the
race,”
Biden
said.
“But
the
Lord
Almighty’s
not
coming
down.”