Democratic congressmen try to set aside their differences over Biden by attacking Trump | USA Elections

The Democratic Party has become entangled in a perverse dynamic. It is unclear whether the best candidate to defeat Donald Trump is still the president, Joe Biden, or whether he would be better off handing the baton to the vice president, Kamala Harris, or another Democratic candidate. What does seem clear is that as long as Biden remains the headliner he will be permanently questioned…

The Democratic Party is entangled in a perverse dynamic. It is unclear whether the best candidate to defeat Donald Trump is still the president, Joe Biden, or whether it would be better for him to hand over the command to the vice president, Kamala Harris, or to another Democratic candidate. What does seem clear is that as long as Biden remains the headliner, he will continue to be permanently questioned, weakening the electoral prospects of his people in presidential and legislative elections. In this situation, Democratic congressmen met this Tuesday to talk about the internal crisis and to convey a message of unity: we must defeat Donald Trump.

Democratic spokesmen avoided quoting Biden even once in their initial interventions in the press appearance after the parliamentary group meeting. The congressmen met to talk about Biden, but when they came out to report the meeting they only talked about Trump. After repeatedly criticizing the Republicans and underlining the threat posed by their policies, the president of the Democratic parliamentary group, Pete Aguilar, has finally shown his support for Biden, although with an introductory “right now” that does not fully heal the wounds: “Right now, President Biden is the candidate and we support the Democratic candidate to defeat Donald Trump.”

Democratic congressmen have been meeting at the Capitol for nearly two hours. Upon exiting, most of those who spoke did so to show their support for the president. However, behind closed doors there have been voices heard that continue to express doubts about Biden being the best potential candidate.

“The president himself has said he’ll be there. It’s about campaigning and moving forward,” he said of those doubts. “We’ll see. Let’s look at the press conferences. Let’s look at the campaign stops. Let’s look at all of this, because it will be important,” he said. He has also been asked if the president should address members of Congress directly to address their concerns: “That’s up to the president and his team.” “I can’t talk about that,” he replied.

House Democrat leader Hakeem Jeffries said, “Today we had a meeting that gave lawmakers the opportunity to express themselves honestly and comprehensively, and these discussions will continue throughout the week.” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer has repeatedly reiterated, “I’m with Joe.”

Since Biden’s disastrous CNN debate in Atlanta against Donald Trump in late June, political, media and financial pressure on him to step down has intensified. However, the president has challenged critics to confront them. “The question of how to move forward has been well-circulated for more than a week. And it’s time for it to end,” Biden said in a letter to congressmen this Monday. “We have one job to do. And that’s defeating Donald Trump,” he said after ensuring that he remains “firmly committed” to his plan to run for re-election.

turn the page

If Biden does not step down voluntarily, it is very difficult to move his chair. The rift within the party continues. One of the participants in the parliamentary meeting, Steve Cohen, was asked while leaving if there was an agreement and the congressmen were “on the same page.” “We are not in the same book,” he answered evasively.

Meanwhile, as White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre repeatedly repeats, the president wants to “turn the page.” For now, he doesn’t get it. The spokeswoman’s daily press conferences become a flurry of questions about Biden’s mental acuity and health.

The latest controversy is about how often Dr. Kevin Kennard, a neurologist who researches Parkinson’s disease, appears on the White House visitor registry. Kennard visited the White House eight times between July 2023 and last March. The same doctor also visited during the presidency of Barack Obama and Donald Trump, but the White House has had to clarify that he is not treating Biden and that the White House Medical Unit treats many people other than the president.

According to a letter released by Biden’s doctor, Kevin O’Connor, Kennard has treated patients with a variety of neurological problems for 12 years as a specialist in the White House Medical Unit. Kennard only saw the president at his regular annual check-up, finding no signs of Parkinson’s or cognitive decline.

In this perverse dynamic, the White House is set up for denials, denials and explanations that do not stop. No, Biden does not have Alzheimer’s. No, Biden is not considering withdrawing his candidacy. No, Biden has not been diagnosed with Parkinson’s and is not being treated. No, members of Biden’s cabinet are not studying how to invoke the clause in the Constitution that allows a president to become incapacitated. However, each of these denials continues to hurt him even as a denial.

Meanwhile, Biden is confident of playing a good role during this week’s NATO summit, with the first notable event this Tuesday. After last week’s interview on ABC News did not clear up doubts, the next milestone is set for this Thursday’s press conference after the summit ends. This is expected to be the biggest sanction since November 2022.

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