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Jim GeraghtyBy the standards of a normal presidential candidate, Trump didn’t have a great night. He was a little more disciplined at the beginning, and I think that faded as the night went on. But the fact that so much of the coverage this morning was, “Oh my goodness, look at Biden. And then there’s Donald Trump,” shows how bad Biden was.
It takes a lot of effort to outdo Donald Trump, and Biden did it — his performance was so formidable and so disturbing.
Karen Tumulty: So, Dana, do you think President Biden should back down?
Dana Milbank: I’ve never joined that chorus, mostly because I’ve always said that that’s not going to happen. So what’s the problem? Would it be better to have someone else as the Democratic nominee, the only person who stands up for the truth? Absolutely. I hope so. So if Mr. Biden decides that the best service he can give to the country right now is to step aside, I applaud that decision. So I think that’s a way of saying yes.
But then what? Is Kamala Harris a better representative of the Democratic Party? I feel like the Democratic Party, and the country, is in a really bad place right now.
Mayhem: This is not the old days when party leaders met in smoke-filled rooms and made decisions. I have a hard time imagining that thousands of convention delegates could converge on a choice so quickly, and that their choice, untested in primaries, could actually carry them across the finish line in November. So they may be stuck with a faulty horse.
GelatiIf Biden decides, “Hey, it’s time to retire,” his delegates are free to decide who they want to vote for. They’re not necessarily obligated to support Kamala Harris. They could vote for Gavin Newsom or Gretchen Whitmer or whoever.
Mayhem: So, if you were on Biden’s team this morning, if you were Jill Biden, Ron Klain, Mike Donilon, Anita Dunn, what would you say to him this morning? What’s your advice?
Milbank: If he were to listen to anybody, it would be the people you just mentioned. That’s part of why I say it doesn’t do us any good to say, “Yeah, this is what Joe Biden should do.” But if he’s hearing it from the people around him, from his family, from his donors, it might mean something different.
Gelati: If I were to try to advise Biden right now, I would say, “Mr. President, 24 hours ago, your main achievement was to be the person who stopped Trump. But now, your achievement is to be the person who made it possible for an indicted and convicted Trump to return to the White House after January 6th. You don’t want that to be your achievement.”
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