THE TOP PART
Happy Wednesday morning.
Now we are short of two weeks from the president Joe Biden's disastrous performance of the presidential debate in Atlanta. And Biden has succeeded where no other politician has in recent years, making Republicans look competent and united.
Biden's catastrophic show and the ensuing drama have completely upended the Democratic Party on Capitol Hill.
Democrats spent big of this Congress watching from the sidelines as Republicans ripped for the former president Kevin McCarthy and the return of the former president donald trump
The president's party liked it and credited Biden for leading them to a series of big legislative victories over the past few years. There was definitely angst about Biden's re-election chances, but it was manageable. The brutal war in Gaza and the failure of the White House to find an effective message on immigration and inflation were serious problems. However, there was a sense that perhaps Biden was turning the corner as the summer began and could beat Trump for the rest of the campaign, especially after Trump's conviction in the New York hush money case .
All that disappeared in 90 minutes on June 27. Grassroots Democrats are now caught between a president who says he's going nowhere — and who is working hard to stamp out dissent — and their own political future.
Consider this:
— In a closed-door meeting of the Senate Democratic Caucus on Tuesday, Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Jon Tester (D-Mont.) i Michael Bennett (D-Colo.) expressed doubts about Biden's prospects given the current situation.
He appears on CNN with Kaitlan Collins On Tuesday night, Bennet said Trump “I think he's on track to win this election and maybe win it big and take the Senate and the House with him.” Bennet added: “The White House has done nothing since the debate to show that they have a plan to win this election.” Watch the video here.
— Senate Democrats were far from being united about whether Biden is the best person to defeat Trump. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) told us that Biden must “continue to aggressively make his case” to his fellow Democratic senators to “get full support.”
— New Jersey Democrat Rep. Mikey Sherrill issued a statement Tuesday afternoon calling on Biden to step down in favor of another Democratic candidate.
partner New Jersey Democratic Representation Andy Kim — who is running for the Senate — went along the lines of whether Biden should get out.
“I'm still thinking about it,” Kim told reporters. “What steps can we really take right now [to replace Biden.] This is where some of the confusion lies. Especially with all the talk about what the actual deadlines are. It's hard to make a decision without fully understanding it. We need to understand it better.”
— House Democratic leaders met privately with some of their most vulnerable members Tuesday morning. as we have reported in our PM edition, the conversation about Biden's viability was “honest, brutal and intense.” Some members were crying, according to sources with knowledge of the meeting.
— President of the Congressional Progressive Caucus Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) still won't say whether he supports Biden staying on the ticket. Jayapal said she has an idea of where her caucus is, but isn't ready to reveal it. The most progressive of the Senate, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), sticks with Biden.
— Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus have complained to us that their leaders, Reps. Nanette Barragán (D-California) i Adriano Espaillat (DN.Y.), issued a statement expressing his support for Biden without the full acceptance of his entire membership. Now other members are complaining that BOLD PAC, the political arm of the CHC, has not voiced its support for Biden.
— George Stephanopoulos, the ABC News anchor who interviewed Biden last week, said in a TMZ video that he doesn't think the president can serve another four years. ABC News later said Stephanopoulos reflected his opinion, not the network's. Stephanopoulos he said From Puck Dylan Byers I shouldn't have answered the question.
— Biden's defenders, especially those in the Senate, worry that their colleagues who criticize Biden are engaging in a “circular firing squad” that not only weakens the president but hurts Democrats down the ballot. That was a central point of Biden's allies during the Senate Democratic luncheon.
Some White House officials thought they had turned a corner after Tuesday's House and Senate Democratic caucus sessions. During those meetings there was a lot of complaining and venting, but no stampede to dump on Biden. The leadership remains with Biden. The CBC and CHC largely support the Speaker, who is especially important in the House.
But each new statement or bad survey is another brick removed from the foundation. Biden seems to be being undermined by a thousand little cuts from members of his own party.
— Jake Sherman, John Bresnahan, Melanie Zanona and Andrew Desiderio
English 
Español de Venezuela