{"id":29833,"date":"2024-07-18T20:49:17","date_gmt":"2024-07-19T01:49:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/?p=29833"},"modified":"2024-07-18T20:49:20","modified_gmt":"2024-07-19T01:49:20","slug":"biden-decision-on-future-expected-in-coming-days-and-harris-is-considered-heir-apparent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/?p=29833","title":{"rendered":"Biden decision on future expected in coming days, and Harris is considered heir apparent"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Well-connected Democratic Party insiders say they expect President Biden\u2002<\/u><\/a>to make a major announcement about his future soon after the Republican National Convention concludes in Milwaukee and that congressional leaders expect that Vice President Harris will become their nominee for president if Biden drops his reelection bid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The talk among high-level Democratic strategists and donors has now turned to who is best positioned to serve has Harris\u2019s running mate<\/u><\/a>, and the short list has boiled down to Sen. Mark Kelly\u2002<\/u><\/a>(D-Ariz.), Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear\u2002<\/u><\/a>and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

California Gov. Gavin Newsom\u2002<\/u><\/a>and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer\u2002<\/u><\/a>have communicated to senior party leaders that they would not be interested in serving as Harris\u2019s running mate, according to a person familiar with the candidates in the mix to join Harris atop the ticket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Biden has come under intense pressure from party leaders<\/u><\/a>, including former Speaker Nancy Pelosi\u2002<\/u><\/a>(D-Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer\u2002<\/u><\/a>(D-N.Y.) and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries\u2002<\/u><\/a>(N.Y.), who have told the president directly that a majority of Democratic senators and large number of House members don\u2019t think he can beat former President Trump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alums from former President Obama\u2019s\u2002<\/u><\/a>2008 and 2012 winning presidential campaigns are prepared to help Harris get her own presidential campaign operation up and running if Biden agrees to step aside, according to a source familiar with the transition plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Democratic Party strategists say Biden has failed to reassure rattled Democratic lawmakers and donors that he\u2019ll be able to recover from his disastrous debate performance and put to rest incessant questions about his mental acuity, energy and health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, sources say Biden has become trapped in the narrative that he\u2019s too old to effectively serve another four years as president, and there doesn\u2019t appear to be any way to dispel it before Election Day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Congressional leaders are \u201clukewarm\u201d on Harris as the nominee but recognize that her\u2002favorable rating<\/u><\/a> is higher than Biden\u2019s and believe the president can help boost her numbers by campaigning for her, according to a person familiar with the leadership-level discussions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cConversations are happening, and they\u2019re different and stronger than they were a few weeks ago, even than a few days ago. They\u2019ve intensified since Saturday,\u201d said a person familiar with discussions among congressional leaders and Democratic donors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRight now, the president is committed to being on top of the ticket and leading the whole party to victory,\u201d the source said, but added that Democrats at a \u201chigh level\u201d are already looking ahead to what a new ticket would look like with Harris as the nominee for president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

White House senior deputy press secretary Andrew Bates denied that Biden is contemplating dropping out of the race. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFalse,\u201d he said in a one-word statement issued after The Hill reported that Biden is expected to make a decision about his political future in the next few days. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kelly\u2019s name and Cooper\u2019s name have been floated in recent days as top-tier vice presidential running mates<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The source said the Biden campaign\u2019s plan \u201cis to go out into the states this week\u201d but said that could change soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA lot of stuff is going on in Delaware today,\u201d the source added. \u201cThere will be some sort of strong statement coming out after the other guy goes on stage tonight,\u201d referring to Trump\u2019s acceptance of the GOP nomination for president at the convention in Milwaukee Thursday evening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Biden\u2019s campaign team has led supporters to believe that the president will reaffirm his commitment to stay in the race through Election Day, but some of them suspect he could announce a decision to end his campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know what the message that will end up being,\u201d the strategist added. \u201cThere\u2019s lots of time between now and then.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Biden tested positive for COVID-19<\/u><\/a> after holding events in Las Vegas and returned to Delaware to \u201cself-isolate,\u201d which could postpone any announcement on his future until Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the president would have incentive to settle the turmoil in his party before senators and House members return to Washington, which will set off a new round of concerns and calls for him to end his campaign. House Democrats are scheduled to fly in Monday and senators will be back at the Capitol Tuesday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Democrats say Trump will get a polling boost from the failed assassination attempt at the Butler, Pa., rally, which has had a unifying effect on Republican voters, and from the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, making Biden\u2019s chances of staging a comeback seem all the more unlikely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One Biden ally said the president remains defensive, even defiant, about his political future, but those around him are seeing the writing on the wall, sources tell The Hill. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Biden remains holed up at his Delaware beach house with COVID, top Democrats have continued to sound the alarm on his prospects of winning the presidential election. And there was a palpable sense from those inside the campaign and close to it, that the end is near. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For starters, the latest round of polls continue to spell trouble for Biden. \u201cIt keeps getting worse,\u201d said one strategist close to the campaign. \u201cThere has been no proof to the contrary. And morale is like I\u2019ve never seen. It\u2019s bad. It\u2019s like everyone can sense what\u2019s coming.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt this point, it\u2019s untenable,\u201d one surrogate to the campaign said. \u201cThere\u2019s no putting the genie back in the bottle.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And while small donors have continued to trickle in, major fundraising is in the hole, sources said, as major donors continue to withhold money. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are significant cracks and they are beyond repair,\u201d said one major Democratic donor, who added that fundraising is \u201cbleak\u201d because \u201cBiden\u2019s candidacy is clearly on the brink of collapse and the campaign knows it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s cooked,\u201d the donor added. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A second Democratic donor agreed and said, \u201cthe overall consensus is that Biden won\u2019t be the candidate and we\u2019re all in a holding pattern to see who will be.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A senior White House official told ABC News on Thursday that nothing has changed regarding Biden\u2019s candidacy and plans to hit the campaign trail next week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe is going to win the nomination and then the party is going to need to unite,\u201d the official told ABC News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Democratic strategist confirmed media reports that Schumer, Jeffries and Pelosi told Biden in separate meetings that there\u2019s broad pessimism among Democrats on Capitol Hill that Biden can win in November and discussed polling showing that Biden is now a significant underdog heading into Democratic convention in Chicago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s individual takes from three perspectives. They all amount to the same thing,\u201d said the source, who explained the message from congressional leaders to Biden is that he\u2019s unlikely to win a second term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some Democratic strategists, including senior members of Obama\u2019s political team, visited with Biden\u2019s inner circle more than a year ago to voice their grave misgivings about Biden running for a second term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s not a single senator that doesn\u2019t want him to go, maybe with the exception to [Sen. Chris] Coons [D-Del.],\u201d the national co-chair of Biden\u2019s campaign, said a second high-level Democratic source. \u201cThe dam has broken.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kenneth Baer, a Democratic strategist and former Obama administration official, pointed to a recent AP\/NORC poll showing that two-thirds of Democratic voters want their party to nominate someone other than Biden for the presidency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPresident Biden is in a box. The problem is that unlike other questions may have about a candidate, this question is very hard to disprove. Is he young enough or have the mental facility enough to be a winning presidential candidate? What could he possibly [do] to change people\u2019s minds and do so in a very quick way?\u201d Baer said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe polling has been pretty consistent for more than a year. There were always large majorities of Americans, of independents and even a majority of Democrats felt he was too old for the job. I don\u2019t know what he could [do],\u201d he added. \u201cThe debate happened and that was a way to do that, and it didn\u2019t work. What could you do next?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Schumer met with Biden on Saturday and \u201cconveyed the views of his caucus directly to\u201d the president, according to Schumer\u2019s spokesperson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jeffries warned Biden in a meeting Thursday of last week, before the Butler shooting, that his continued campaign could scuttle the chances of Democrats winning control of the House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A spokesperson for Jeffries said the leader \u201cdirectly expressed the full breadth of insight, perspective and conclusions reached about the path forward\u201d on behalf of the House Democratic Caucus.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

CNN reported Thursday that Pelosi privately told Biden in a \u201crecent conversation\u201d that polls show he can\u2019t beat Trump and warned he could destroy the chances of a House Democratic majority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Democratic source said Biden\u2019s top-level advisers, including former Sen. Ted Kaufman\u2002<\/u><\/a>(D-Del.), former White House chief of staff Ron Klain,<\/u><\/a> Mike Donilon,<\/u><\/a> Anita Dunn,<\/u><\/a> first lady Jill Biden\u2002<\/u><\/a>and Biden\u2019s sister Valerie Biden Owens are now \u201cfacing the music\u201d after hearing feedback from congressional leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEverybody understands Kamala is the only play\u201d if Biden steps down, the person added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The strategist said the longer Biden waits to announce a decision to drop out of the race, the \u201cmore difficult for us to make all the transitions we need to do\u201d to build a campaign around a new ticket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe whole Obama alumni are ready to take over Harris\u2019s campaign and run it. That means Obama is all over this,\u201d the source added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harris has her own problems, including a history of high staff turnover, and she is not well liked by Biden loyalists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kelly \u2014 who has surged to the top of Harris\u2019s short-list of running mates, according to two strategists \u2014 says he\u2019s still firmly behind Biden continuing his campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had meetings with Sen. Schumer over the last couple of weeks talking about this issue, but I think the reality of the situation is that President Biden and Kamala Harris\u2002<\/u><\/a>are our nominees,\u201d he told MSNBC. \u201cMillions of Americans voted for them across the country in 50 states and territories. We have an election in 110 days, and we\u2019ve got to be focused on that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An adviser to Newsom did not respond to a request for comment about the California governor taking his name out of consideration for Harris\u2019s running mate, and the governor\u2019s press office did not return a voice message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A spokesperson for Whitmer declined to comment on the Michigan governor\u2019s interest in running for vice president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both donors said there is still some uncertainty in the donor community about whether Harris can win against Trump. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA lot of us think there should be an open convention. It would create a lot of excitement.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

thehill<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Well-connected Democratic Party insiders say they expect President Biden\u2002to make a major announcement about his future soon after the Republican National Convention concludes in Milwaukee and that congressional leaders expect that Vice President Harris will become their nominee for president if Biden drops his reelection bid. The talk among high-level Democratic strategists and donors has now […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":29834,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[1169,1669,2302,29715],"class_list":["post-29833","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-biden","tag-decision","tag-harris","tag-heir"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29833","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=29833"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29833\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29842,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29833\/revisions\/29842"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/29834"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=29833"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=29833"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=29833"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}