How some Democratic lawmakers and voters feel about Biden staying in the race

Amna Nawaz:

Well, it's been one week since President Joe Biden's poor performance in the first debate of the 2024 campaign caused a political shockwave. The president insists he is staying in the race. But even on this Fourth of July holiday, concerns continue to grow inside the Democratic Party about whether Mr. Biden is the best person to sit atop the ticket in November.

"NewsHour" political correspondent Lisa Desjardins has been talking to lawmakers and to voters. She joins me now with the latest.

Good to see you, Lisa.

Lisa Desjardins:

Hi.

Amna Nawaz:

So you have been — so far, rather, we have seen two Democratic lawmakers come out publicly, only two so far, to publicly call for Mr. Biden to step aside. Your reporting shows that many more could be considering that.

Who are we talking about here?

Lisa Desjardins:

Amna, the texts and phone calls from Democratic lawmakers concerned have not waned in the last week.

And talking to about a dozen or so House members in particular and top staffers in Congress who are Democrats in the last couple of days, I can report that there are two movements to write letters asking the president to step aside as the nominee.

These are from two groups that are trying to form, one, veteran lawmakers generally who are in safe seats, like Lloyd Doggett, who you interviewed here on this program. The other is from front-line members who are much more vulnerable, who believe they have much more to risk if Biden is on the ballot.

So, these two groups right now are trying to get text together, trying to move these letters ahead. Now, would they actually publicly call for the president to do this? Unclear. They're talking about it. How big are these groups? Also unclear. It's very fluid.

But I can report from having these conversations that we are talking about scores of House Democrats, not a handful, scores who want the president, privately, they say, to step aside.

Amna Nawaz:

So those who think they may step forward to say that, why are they waiting in this moment to do so?

Lisa Desjardins:

Exactly my question.

There are a few reasons. One, wording of the letter is difficult, especially for front-liners. Some of those front-liners, I'm told, would like letter that says, this is — he has been a good president. They would like praise for the president in this letter.

Other front-liners are nervous about signing that kind of letter, because President Biden may not have won in their district before, may not win again. So, wording is one issue. Another, of course, is the politics here.

There is a lot of calculation about, how do you influence this president. Some believe that publicly coming out, asking him to step aside, is exactly the kind of thing that would have this president feel more embattled, more likely to dig in. There's a discussion about that.

Then there's also the politics for members. Some are worried that, if they come out publicly, there will be retribution later, should he win. Some are worried that, if they don't come out publicly now, if he loses, there could be retribution for missing this moment.

Amna Nawaz:

How does all of this compare to what you're hearing from voters who are watching all this unfold? What are they telling you?

Lisa Desjardins:

There is a complete disconnect here, Amna.

Talking to dozens of voters through our project to reach out to voters, as well as voters in Maine, where I just came back from vacation, family members, and voters here in Virginia this morning at a Fourth of July parade, Democratic voters are not just concerned.

It's beyond that. Let's take a listen.

Ellis Johnston, Minnesota Democratic Voter:

I am feeling panicked. Certainly, like, laying in my bed at night, like, overcome with fear. I do not think that Joe Biden is the best person to be running in this election. I don't know who that person is, but I don't feel confident in Joe Biden's ability to win this election. And that makes me very afraid.

Lisa Desjardins:

Now, are there Democrats that still support him, still want him there?

Of course there are. But this is the vast majority of the response I'm getting, including a text just in the last hour or so from Darren, an undecided voter in Milwaukee, who voted for Biden in 2020. He says he has lost whatever desperate hope he had, and it's well past time for Democrats to face reality about Biden.

Amna Nawaz:

Lisa, as you well know, there's been a sense of the White House and the campaign have kind of circled the wagons around the president since the debate. He won't sit for his first major interview until tomorrow, more than a week after the debate. How is that playing?

Lisa Desjardins:

This has been a difficult week for the White House, but they have again and again, said, no, he's not stepping aside, and they have been getting their supporters out, as we saw last night, when governors from across the country came to the White House.

Three of them came up to the microphone to say that they still support the president and that their meeting reinforced that view. And then we had another today, this from a very popular Democratic governor among progressives, Gavin Newsom of California.

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA):

There was no one that walked out of that and said, we have got you back, Mr. President. No one. Not one. And so,again, for all the hand-wringing, all the navel-gazing, time to step up and step in.

Lisa Desjardins:

That is again a disconnect from what I'm hearing from Democrats here in Washington, who actually are angry, especially House Democrats, for two reasons.

One, the campaign came after them in the last week, calling them bed-wetters. They say that ignores the reality. They think there is a real political problem here for Biden that they're ignoring and potentially a governing one. They are concerned about what he will be like in three years.

So where does this leave all of this? A lot of those House Democrats who are figuring out how they express concern and do they are waiting for a big interview tomorrow, President Biden speaking to ABC. Time is of the essence, and this may be the most important interview of his political career.

Amna Nawaz:

All right, Lisa Desjardins with the latest on this ongoing story.

Lisa, thank you.

Lisa Desjardins:

You're welcome.