‘I Think It’s Happening’
Nearly from the moment President Joe Biden walked off the Atlanta debate stage three weeks ago, Senator Peter Welch of Vermont has been trying—first gently, then much more directly—to get him to end his reelection bid. He now believes that effort is working.
“I think it’s happening,” he told me by phone this morning. More than 20 House Democrats have publicly pushed Biden to withdraw. For now, Welch is the only senator calling for him to step aside. But the party is rapidly turning against Biden.
The Democratic National Committee yesterday paused plans to nominate him early by virtual roll call, and last night, reports emerged that a trio of party leaders—Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi—each told Biden in told Democrats that Biden needs to reconsider his candidacy. Shortly before I spoke with Welch this morning, a House Democrat told me, on the condition of anonymity, that party leaders were encouraging members to go public with their concerns about Biden’s viability.
