House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) met with President Biden on Thursday night to communicate his caucus’ concerns as a growing number of lawmakers call on the president to end his campaign.
Jeffries did not go into great detail, but he released a cordial letter that leaves a lot of room for interpretation:
“In my conversation with President Biden, I directly expressed the full breadth of insight, heartfelt perspectives and conclusions about the path forward that the Caucus has shared in our recent time together.”
Biden on Friday also met with key groups on Capitol Hill, including the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.
This comes as the 20th House Democrat called on Biden to drop out of the race.
The Hill and Decision Desk HQ have a handy tracker of where lawmakers stand HERE.
-
Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), the ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee, had his statement calling for Biden to drop out teed up for the moment Biden’s press conference ended.
-
Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash.) suggested Biden shouldn’t just end his campaign but should also resign from office.
Biden’s Thursday evening presser wasn’t bad enough to bring things to a head, but it wasn’t good enough to quell Democratic fears that they could be staring down a wipeout in November.
There were strong moments on foreign policy. There were also embarrassing viral moments, such as when he referred to Vice President Harris as “Vice President Trump,” or earlier in the evening when he introduced Ukrainian President Voldoymyr Zelensky as “President Putin.”
The Democrats’ Biden dilemma has produced some strange intraparty dynamics:
The national polling has been just lukewarm enough for Democrats to have some optimism things could turn around.
The latest NPR/PBS/Marist Poll found Biden with a 50-48 percent lead over Trump, although these national polls are masking Biden’s weakness in the states that will determine the outcome of the 2024 election.
Biden’s approval rating hit a new low in the 538 average. He sits at 36.8 percent approval. Every prior president seeking reelection at those depths has lost.
Perspectives:
Related coverage:
