What have we learned from Biden? Democrat frustrations about the outcome of the biden-Trump debate and what his future might tell us

We had a great message to run on. What I’ve seen in the debate, since the debate, frankly, a little bit before the debate, President Biden is not capable of delivering that message effectively or consistently. The concern over his health is what the focus of our efforts to focus on Trump is. We need a better messenger. I believe that we have the chance to get one, and we should take it.

NPR has spoken to several Democrats who are frustrated that Biden is not getting the message about the political ramifications of the debate, even though he sat down for a televised interview.

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 others privately want him to withdraw, worried he could upend Democrats’ chances to retake the House and keep control of the Senate.

Rep. Jerry Nadler, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary committee, is from New York.

Top Democrats in the House were able to talk before they went to Capitol Hill on Monday. As a party at a crucial crossroads, top leaders have mostly avoided taking a stance on Biden’s future.

One House Democrat who was granted anonymity to speak candidly about internal party discussions said worries mounted after reports from Biden’s meeting with governors last week that he may not do events past 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.

In an interview with ABC on Friday Biden insisted he would remain in the race, and defended his record. “Well, if the Lord Almighty tells me that I can’t defeat Trump, I might do that,” Biden was defiant, when asked if he would stand down.

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

There are no public calls for Biden to quit the race so far, despite rumors about a meeting between Mark Warner and Biden.

“Personally, I love Joe Biden, I don’t know that the interview on Friday night did enough to answer those questions,” he said. I believe this week is going to be critical. I think the president needs to do more.”

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. The text may be changed or updated in the future. Availability and accuracy may vary. The audio record is the authoritative record of NPR programming.

Is Donald Trump ill served by his staff, or did he run for president? Juana Smith, CNN’s top Democrat on the armed services committee

SMITH: I’m not saying he is. I’m just saying that we should not go there. And look, you know, this – you know, this comment about the elites, it was the party. It’s – they’re not elites. It’s the party.

SMITH: I’ve never seen a debate performance that bad in my life. And I’m not just talking on the presidential level. I called the next day after that. I called the White House and said, look, I think you should step aside. But, you know, it’s a snap judgment. I’ll give you some time to think about it, and I need to think about it. And I had a number of conversations with Biden campaign officials as well as…

SUMMERS: We have about a minute left. I want to ask you, to your judgment, was the president ill served by his staff and those close to him, not just in the days surrounding that debate that we’ve been talking about, but also in his decision to run for president in the first place? Was this issue where he was getting bad guidance?

Smith: “Now that it’s over.” Well, I mean, I think given what happened in the debate and given a lot of the commentary, he should bring in an independent physician who should give him a full health workup, including a neurological examination. He should release that information publicly. Donald Trump ought to do the same thing.

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, is in conversation with Juana.

Smith: Yes. 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’s made significant improvements to the economy as a result of COVID. We’ve done a good job as Democrats by passing the Infrastructure Act and the Inflation Reduction Act. There’s a great record to run on, No. 1. No. 2, Donald Trump is an existential threat to this country. And Project 2025 sort of lays out what that threat is in great detail.

SUMMERS: If President Biden is not the right candidate for this moment, who should be the party’s nominee heading into November? Should it be the Vice President?

Smith: I think so. I think that she has been strong over the last two years. Her voice on, you know, reproductive health care rights for women, you know, on the Ukraine War – I go to the Munich Security Conference. She has 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 accept the judgment of those delegates, but I would support Harris.

Smith: That is President Joe Biden’s fault exclusively, that we are focused on that. He was the one who spoke everywhere. He was the one debating Donald Trump. The reason people are discussing it is because of him. It’s offensive that he doesn’t take responsibility for that, that he tries to blame us. He is the one who has not been transparent about his health care situation and 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, We could just tell the Americans that they don’t need to 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 don’t believe that would be a winning strategy.

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

Does Honesty Imply Transparent Behavior? An Analysis of SMITH’s Comments on “Is Honest Something Really Non-Probable”

SMITH: OK? Honest is not a transparent thing. Maybe it’s OK, but they’re not letting us see so that we can independently be sure. Transparent is very different than honest.