WASHINGTON — A trio of top advisers to President Joe Biden privately briefed Senate Democrats for just under two hours on Thursday, as anxieties grow among Democrats about Biden’s diminished standing in the presidential race against Donald Trump.
As public polling averages show that his position has slipped, albeit modestly, many Democrats don’t believe Biden can win — and they worry he may drag down the party’s ticket with him, potentially handing Republicans control of Congress as well. Democrats went into the meeting seeking answers from Biden’s team about their plan to turn things around.
Biden senior advisers Mike Donilon and Steve Ricchetti, as well as Biden campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon, presented senators with polling and data that their team collected, outlining Biden’s path to victory in November, which they maintain he has, multiple senators told NBC News.
That was the most “heated” portion of the meeting, according to two sources with knowledge of discussions, who said Senate Democrats asked tough questions of campaign officials and pressed them over and over again about Biden’s future in the wake of his halting debate performance on June 27.
The briefing was helpful, Democrats said, but it wasn’t enough to move the needle.
“I think President Biden has to take the fight to Donald Trump,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., unconvinced after the polling presentation he received. “And as the Democratic candidate, [Biden] has my support. I still have concerns because I need more of the data and analytics that show the path to victory in November.”
Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., who remains the first and only senator to publicly call on Biden to exit the race, said he appreciated that the Biden team was willing to engage with his colleagues and answer questions but his mind has been made up. “I have not changed my mind,” he said, adding that he will be watching tonight’s press conference.
One day before the meeting, Welch penned a Washington Post op-ed saying that Biden’s standing has eroded and that the party has “a deep bench that can defeat Trump.”
“This is a show-me, not tell-me situation for the president,” Welch told NBC News about the Thursday meeting. “So, speaking to us is helpful to get insights into how they plan to deal with it, but it’s less about a discussion with folks who are longtime appreciators of President Biden. The challenge for him is to get to the public and reassure them about their misgivings post-debate.”
Earlier in the week, Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., said he no longer believes Biden can win.
The stakes are high for Senate Democrats. The party controls the Senate 51-49 and is all but guaranteed to lose a seat in West Virginia. In order to keep the Senate majority, they must defend seats in the red states like Montana and Ohio, as well as purple states like Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona and Nevada. Their only pickup opportunities to flip GOP-held seats come in the red-leaning states of Florida and Texas.
In addition to outlining their plan to win the 2024 election, one of the Biden team’s goals was to make the case that Democrats should get unified — and quickly — prior to the Republican convention next week to refocus on Trump and what they see as GOP extremism, a senior Biden adviser said.
Shortly before the meeting, the campaign shared a “path ahead” memo that acknowledged “increased anxiety following the debate,” which it called a “setback” for the campaign. But the memo argues Biden still has a path to victory, noting: “Our internal data and public polling show the same thing: this remains a margin-of-error race in key battleground states.”
Sen. Joe Manchin, I-W.V., said it was an “instructive” meeting and while he has not yet spoken to Biden, he plans to do so “soon.” Before the meeting, Manchin suggested that Democrats would have conversations over the weekend — and after the NATO summit in Washington has concluded — about Biden’s future.
Some senators expressed optimism about Biden after the meeting. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., who has been an outspoken advocate for the president said he is “all in on Joe Biden” and that wouldn’t change. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., a Biden campaign co-chair, said it was a “family discussion” that went well and that she is fully behind the president.
Sens. Jon Tester, D-Mont., and Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, two of the most vulnerable Democrats up for re-election this fall, did not attend Thursday’s meeting. Nor did Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va.
“I have a full-time job to do here and I am not interested in campaign meetings,” Brown said.
Tester said he wished he could attend but had a conflict. He indicated that he’d be interested in talking to Biden directly.
“I always would like to see the president,” Tester said.
Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., another top Republican target this election cycle, attended the sitdown with Biden advisers. He told reporters Wednesday that he doesn’t agree with some colleagues that President Biden can’t win in November. “It’s just my view,” Casey said.
Biden’s Democratic critics outside the Senate were skeptical that a meeting with Biden’s advisers would quell worries about his ability to win.
“It’s very easy to allay our concerns. Show up and show you’re fit for this. I don’t particularly think that sending staff members should, will or can get at what everyone has been worried about,” said Aaron Regunberg, a former Democratic state legislator from Rhode Island who is now with the volunteer group Pass the Torch, which is asking Biden to exit. “We’re losing by a lot right now.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said three times on Tuesday when asked about Biden’s troubles, “I’m with Joe.”
And Schumer battled down suggestions that he has privately said differently to others: “As I have made clear repeatedly publicly and privately, I support President Biden and remain committed to ensuring Donald Trump is defeated in November,” he said.
