Dems in full-blown ‘freakout’ over Biden
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One advisor to major Democratic donors maintains a running list with reasons Biden might lose.
Even among those who previously expressed confidence in the upcoming battle against Donald Trump, there is a pervasive fear at the top of the Democratic Party about President Joe Biden’s reelection chances.
The Democrats have been dragging their feet through the election of 2024 for the past year. More than a dozen leaders and operatives of the Democratic Party say that, with less than five months to go until the election, their anxiety has turned into trepidation. The gap between what Democrats say on television or in print and what they text their friends has grown, as fears about Biden have risen.
You don’t want be the guy on record who says we’re doomed or that the campaign is bad or Biden makes mistakes. “Nobody wants to be the guy who is on record saying we’re doomed, or that the campaign’s bad, or Biden makes mistakes,” said a Democratic official in close contact with White House. The operative spoke anonymously to allow him to speak freely.
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He said that Biden’s persistently low polling numbers and the importance of the election are “creating the freakout.”
This is not a case of ‘Oh, my god, Mitt Romney could become president. It’s more like ‘Oh, my God, democracy might end.
Trump leads Biden in the majority of battleground states despite everything. He raised more money in April. The landscape for Democrats may worsen with the conclusion of Trump’s hush money trial and the start of another, this time involving the son the president, in Delaware.
Concerns have grown in recent weeks as Trump has visited some of the most liberal areas in America, such as New Jersey and New York to win over Hispanics and Blacks. He boasted that he was going to win in these areas.
Trump, who has long been behind Biden when it comes to cash on hand (and had a much smaller amount), outpaced Biden’s fundraising by $25 million in the last month. This included a $50.5 million record haul from a Palm Beach, Florida event. An adviser to major Democratic Party funders provided a list of almost two dozen reasons that Biden might lose. These included immigration, high inflation, the age of the president, and the unpopularity and presence of third party candidates such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The adviser explained that “donors often ask me what I think on an hourly or daily basis.” It was “so easy to show them so I can pour myself a drink while they read the document.”
The adviser said, “The list for why we ‘could win’ is so short I don’t need to even keep it on my phone.”
Massachusetts Governor. Maura Shealey put pressure on donors when she introduced President Trump to a 300-person crowd.
Biden’s political operation was expected to raise more than $6,000,000 from the fundraising events he attended that day in Boston. Healey thought that wasn’t enough.
Healey said, a Democrat serving her first term, “Thank you to those of you who have opened your wallets.” We’d like to see you open up your wallets a bit more, and find more patriots – more patriots that believe in our country and who understand and recognize the challenges we face at this time.
The laughter echoed throughout the room. Healey’s voice became serious. Healey’s voice became serious.
Biden has had a few moments during his presidency that were questioned. His aides made a game out of mocking the predictions and compiling dossiers with clips and headlines where he was underrated. Biden campaign advisers and allies point out some positive polls in battleground states and Trump’s relative lack of infrastructure and campaigning in key states. This includes staff, organizing programs, and advertising.
An anonymous Biden campaign advisor stressed that Trump’s team had never indicated that his hush money trial would benefit or harm him. The adviser argued that Trump would be forced to defend reducing abortion rights, attacking democratic values and advancing corporate interest as president.
Kevin Munoz, spokesperson for the Biden campaign, told POLITICO that Trump’s PR stunts and photo-ops may appeal to some serious D.C. folks as compelling campaigning but will not win over voters who will decide the election. The work we do on the ground in battleground states and on the airwaves to highlight Donald Trump’s anti American campaign of revenge, retribution, and abortion bans will secure us another White House.
Biden supporters, who are still optimistic, say that they would rather be him than Trump. They then rally around reproductive rights and abortion, which Michigan Democrat Rep. Dan Kildee called “a fundamental change in the game.”
“We must run a campaign where we honestly drive home the fact that Donald Trump brings us back to 19th century. Biden brings us into the 21st Century,” Kildee stated.
He didn’t comment on how well the campaign was run or whether it met his approval.
“A lot could happen between now, and then,” said Ann Kuster, a Democrat, from New Hampshire who will retire after the fall elections. She also pointed out the erosion of abortion rights under a conservative Supreme Court, remade by Trump. “I’m sure a number of voters will be motivated by Dobbs.”
Democratic critics, while agreeing with the approach of the campaign — and that abortion should be the winning issue — say they are challenged by friends when asked to explain why Biden is going to win.
“There is still a way to win, but it doesn’t seem like they’re on the right track,” said Pete Giangreco. A longtime Democratic strategist, Giangreco has worked on several presidential campaigns. If the frame for this race is ‘Which was better: the 3.5-years under Biden, or the four-years under Trump?’, we lose it every day of week and twice on sunday.
Laurie Pohutsky, a Democratic state representative from Michigan’s swing state, said that Biden’s position is so fragile that Democrats on the lower ballot cannot rely “on the top-of-the ticket to pull us through” in November.
In 2020, there was sufficient energy to remove Donald Trump and other issues on the ballot brought out young people in subsequent elections.
She replied, “That is not the case.” I’m worried because we have had four years of a stable White House.