Top Democrats Weigh Biden Future, Raskin Says, As Family Reportedly Digs In

As President Joe Biden huddles with family at Camp David following his widely criticized debate performance, Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland has become the one of the first high-ranking elected Democrats to raise questions about Biden’s political future, marking a significant moment in the ongoing discussions about the party’s 2024 strategy.

Speaking in an interview with MSNBC‘s Ali Velshi on Sunday morning, Raskin acknowledged ongoing discussions within the party about Biden’s candidacy.

“We’re having a serious conversation about what to do,” he stated, adding, “One thing I can tell you is that regardless of what President Biden decides, our party is going to be unified, and our party also needs him at the very center of our deliberations in our campaign, and so whether he’s the candidate or someone else is the candidate.”

According to The New York Times, Biden’s family is urging him to stay in the race and keep fighting, despite last week’s debate performance. People close to the situation reported that some family members privately expressed exasperation at how Biden was prepared for the event by his staff. Hunter Biden, the president’s son, is reportedly one of the strongest voices imploring his father to resist pressure to drop out.

The Times also reported that Hunter wants Americans to see the version of his father that he knows — scrappy and in command of the facts — rather than the “stumbling, aging” president Americans saw on Thursday night. Other family members contemplated how they could be productive on the campaign trail, with at least one of Biden’s grandchildren expressing interest in getting more involved, possibly by working with influencers on social media.

On June 11, a Delaware jury found Hunter guilty of three firearm charges. Prosecutors accused him of lying about his status as a drug user when purchasing a firearm in 2018. Section 922(g)(3) of the United States Code states it is against the law for anyone who is an “unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance” to possess a firearm.

The debate’s aftermath has sparked criticism from within Democratic circles. John Morgan, a top Democratic donor, publicly blamed advisers who managed the president’s debate preparations, specifically naming Ron Klain, Anita Dunn, and Bob Bauer. “Biden has for too long been fooled by the value of Anita Dunn and her husband,” Morgan wrote on social media. “They need to go … TODAY. The grifting is gross. It was political malpractice.”

Newsweek reached out to Biden’s campaign on Sunday via email for comment.

Morgan reiterated his concerns in a recent interview with The Times, saying, “It would be like if you took a prizefighter who was going to have a title fight and put him in a sauna for 15 hours then said, ‘Go fight.’ I believe that the debate is solely on Ron Klain, Bob Bauer and Anita Dunn.”

Some Democrats have pointed out that neither family members nor other critics attended the preparation sessions and therefore had no idea how they went. One member of Biden’s close circle said that no one was happy with how the debate turned out and that it was human nature to look for someone to blame.

Recent polls have indicated varying levels of support for Biden within the Democratic Party. A Data for Progress flash poll conducted on Friday found that 51% of Democrats and 35% of all likely voters believe Biden should remain the party’s presidential candidate. A Morning Consult poll conducted after Thursday’s debate revealed that 47% of Democratic voters and 59% of independent voters think Biden should be replaced.

Despite these challenges, the Biden campaign has firmly denied any possibility of the president stepping aside. Seth Schuster, a Biden campaign spokesman, told Newsweek, “Joe Biden is not dropping out.” Senior adviser Anita Dunn echoed this sentiment on MSNBC, affirming that Biden has not discussed abandoning the race with his aides.