CV NEWS FEED // According to an anonymous Democratic lawmaker, a coalition of powerful Democrats dubbed “super friends” are “assembling” in an effort to convince embattled President Joe Biden to end his struggling reelection bid.
A House Democrat described the alleged group to POLITICO this week.
“There’s a group of people who are going to go make their case to whomever they can get to at the White House that [Biden] needs to step aside and we’re going to get our asses kicked if he doesn’t,” the member of Congress said.
The Daily Beast noted that the rumored plan “would see a group of Biden’s oldest and most senior Democratic colleagues come together to make a definitive statement on behalf of the party that it would be damaging if the president were to continue.”
“It is hoped that team would include Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, President Pro Tempore Patty Murray, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC),” The Daily Beast reported:
On Wednesday, Pelosi stopped short of endorsing Biden, saying, “It’s up to the president to decide if he is going to run. We’re all encouraging him to make that decision. Because time is running short.”
…
Some of Biden’s top supporters, including former President Barack Obama, are reportedly working on getting Biden to quit the race, but there is no clarity on who would take over or by what mechanism they should be selected.
>> SCHUMER, TOP DEMS SIGNAL WILLINGNESS TO DITCH BIDEN CANDIDACY <<
On Thursday, CatholicVote reported that Schumer had been “‘privately signaling to donors’ that he is open to replacing Biden as the 2024 Democratic nominee,” according an Axios report.
CatholicVote added:
Axios’ U.S. Senate Reporter Stephen Neukam wrote on X (formerly Twitter) Wednesday evening that per three sources, Schumer “is open to dumping Biden at the top of the ticket.”
“Schumer is hearing from donors and assessing to path [sic] forward,” Neukam added. He indicated that a spokesperson for the Senate Democratic leader “declined to comment.”
Both Pelosi and Schumer have been fixtures of the Democratic Party for decades. They have each continuously served in Congress since the 1980s and have a long working relationship with the now-president dating back to his time as a U.S. senator from Delaware.
The other anticipated members of the alleged “super friends” group have also expressed doubts about Biden’s continued presence in the race following his disastrous June 27 debate performance against former President Donald Trump.
>> REPORT: ‘CONSPIRACY OF SILENCE’ BY BIDEN ALLIES <<
Murray said in a statement this week: “More than a week since the debate, and after talking with my constituents, I believe President Biden must do more to demonstrate he can campaign strong enough to beat Donald Trump.”
Currently third in line to the presidency, Murray served with Biden in the U.S. Senate for over a decade-and-a-half, from 1993 to 2009.
Jeffries meanwhile met with Biden on Thursday night “to relay the sentiments of the House Democratic Caucus regarding his reelection bid,” The Hill reported.
Per the left-wing publication The Guardian, Jeffries did not offer his endorsement to the president during the “blunt” and “heartfelt” meeting.
Finally, Clyburn – widely considered a “kingmaker” who helped Biden secure the Democratic nomination in 2020 – seemed to be the most receptive to the prospect of the president remaining in the race.
The New York Times noted that the longtime high-ranking congressman
said on Friday that Democrats should stop talking about whether the president is fit to run and respect his decision to stay in the race, noting that he still had time to change his mind before the party convention next month. If he stepped aside, Mr. Clyburn said, he would “absolutely” endorse Ms. Harris as the nominee.
>> TWO HOUSE DEMS: BIDEN WILL LOSE REELECTION <<
Clyburn said during an NBC appearance the same day: “Let Joe Biden continue to make his own decisions about his future; he’s earned that right.”
“I am going to give him that much respect,” the veteran lawmaker added. “If he decides to change his mind later on, then we will respond to that.”
Rumors aside, some Democratic donors have already reportedly taken action that may point to Biden’s eventual exit from the race.
The New York Times indicated on Friday that major donors to the party “have told the largest pro-Biden super PAC, Future Forward, that roughly $90 million in pledged donations is now on hold if President Biden remains atop the ticket.”
“The frozen contributions come as he had hoped to turn the page on a weekslong crisis within his party following a nearly hourlong news conference on Thursday evening,” the Times continued:
That appearance — in which he delivered a few gaffes but also demonstrated a command of foreign policy — did not immediately seem to worsen Democrats’ fears about his viability, but it also did not silence the calls for him to drop out.
>> POLL: 2/3 OF CATHOLIC SWING STATE VOTERS SAY BIDEN SHOULD DROP OUT <<
On Thursday night, Biden made headlines after he mistakenly called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “President Putin” at the 2024 NATO Summit in Washington D.C.
“Ladies and gentlemen, President Putin,” Biden said while introducing the Eastern European leader, who is currently waging a bloody war against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Seconds later, Biden realized his mistake. “He’s going to beat President Putin … I’m so focused on beating Putin, we got to worry about it,” he said.
As of Friday evening, 19 of the 213 Democratic House members have openly called for the incumbent president to exit the race. Reps. Mike Levin, D-CA, and Brittany Petterson, D-CO, became the latest lawmakers to join this camp, both on Friday.
Sen. Peter Welch, D-VT, remains the only Senate Democrat to support a Biden exit. None of the country’s 23 Democratic state governors have so far called for Biden to drop out.
In an op-ed published by The Times this week, however, Hollywood A-Lister George Clooney claimed to speak for a privately unanimous majority of top Democrats when he called for Biden to abandon his reelection effort.
“This isn’t only my opinion,” Clooney wrote, “this is the opinion of every senator and congress member and governor that I’ve spoken with in private. Every single one, irrespective of what he or she is saying publicly.”
Clooney is a longtime close friend and collaborator with former President Barack Obama.
