Dems' 'deeply self-destructive' attacks on Biden to blame for weakening his candidacy, lawmaker says
A House Democrat backing President Biden is blasting members of his own party for speaking out against Biden's 2024 candidacy in public, arguing it is putting the president in a worse position amid the fallout from the 81-year-old's disastrous debate performance last month.
Congress is back in session on Monday for the first time since the immediate fallout of Biden's debate performance, and it is expected to bring a heap of scrutiny on Democratic lawmakers.
Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., who has signaled he is backing Biden, called his fellow Democrats out for the public disarray.
"Regardless of where one stands on the question of President Biden's political future, the intra-party mixed messaging strikes me as deeply self-destructive," Torres said Monday. "Those publicly calling on President Biden to withdraw should ask themselves a simple question: 'what if the President becomes the Democratic nominee?' The drip, drip, drip of public statements of no confidence only serve to weaken a president who has been weakened not only by the debate but also by the debate about the debate."
"Weakening a weakened nominee seems like a losing strategy for a presidential election. The piling-on is not so much solving a problem as much as it is creating and compounding one. The process by which we decide how to move forward matters as much as the decision itself."
The debate has led to more intra-party fractures within the House Democratic caucus as members are split on calls for Biden to drop out of the race.
Over the past week, five House Democrats have publicly urged Biden to step aside ahead of his November rematch with former President Trump.
A senior House Democratic aide told Fox News Digital on Friday that they anticipate more people to join the list this week.
However, Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., a Biden ally, took a shot at her colleagues on Sunday for criticizing the president.
"Any ‘leader’ calling for President Biden to drop out needs to get their priorities straight and stop undermining this incredible actual leader who has delivered real results for our country," she said in a statement. "What Democrats need to be doing is stop listening to these political pundits and focus on what’s at stake this election: our democracy. End of story."
It is part of the political minefield the Biden campaign has been navigating since last month's CNN Presidential Debate. The 81-year-old president's hoarse voice and sometimes aimless answers exacerbated concerns that he is not a viable candidate to face Trump in November and spurred questions over whether he is fit to lead in a second term.
This week will be the longest time House Democrats have had to face each other and the Capitol Hill media since that debate.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., has said very little about Biden's debate performance, only telling reporters on Friday that he was dedicated to making sure Democrats win in November.
"Until he articulates a way forward in terms of his vision for America at this moment, I'm going to reserve comment about anything relative to where we are at this moment, other than to say I stand behind the ticket," Jeffries told reporters on Friday.
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House Democrats held a caucus-wide call on Sunday afternoon to discuss the path forward in the election. Four senior Democratic lawmakers – Reps. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., Mark Takano, D-Calif., Adam Smith, D-Wash., and Joe Morelle, D-N.Y. – reportedly said Biden should step aside.
There was more confusion on the left after the call, however, when Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., responded to reports that he too criticized Biden with a statement declaring: "I support President Biden. I support the Biden-Harris ticket, and look forward to helping defeat Donald Trump in November. I was proud to host an event this week in Northern Virginia with the President, and will continue doing all I can to support the Biden-Harris campaign in Virginia and across the country."
Fox News Digital reached out to the four lawmakers mentioned on the call for comment.