Top Democrat House members are continuing to call for him to withdraw.
At least four House Democratic committee leaders said on a Sunday afternoon call with Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) that President Biden should end his 2024 candidacy, according to three senior House Democrats.
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"People are upset and think he's got to step down," said one senior Democratic lawmaker, who, like others, spoke to Axios on the condition of anonymity to describe a private session.
What we're hearing: Multiple Democrats who lead House committees said on the 2 p.m. call, led by Jeffries, that Biden should drop out, one senior House Democrat told Axios.
Those Democrats: Reps. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.), Adam Smith (D-Wash.) and Mark Takano (D-Calif.), the ranking members of the Judiciary, House Administration, Armed Services and Veterans Affairs panels, respectively, the lawmaker said.
One of the lawmakers who described the call to Axios said those four were "among many others" who raised concerns about Biden, estimating that "at least half" voiced apprehensions.
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Zoom in: One of the lawmakers on the call told Axios that "most of the concern addressed colleagues in swing districts and more vulnerable seats."
"It was about how to win the presidency and the Senate and the House ... there was a lot of concern [that] if we continue in this direction, we could have problems regaining a majority," they added.
But Biden has now given Democrats their marching orders: "End" all talk of Biden leaving the race. But does he have the juice to make them obey?
President Biden told congressional Democrats that it's time to "end" the pressure on him drop out via a Monday letter sent just ahead of Congress' return from its July 4 recess.
Why it matters: Lawmakers have told Axios they expect calls for Biden's withdrawal to grow once lawmakers are back in town. Biden's letter is a clear attempt to tamp down those calls before they arise, but initial reaction shows it could be stoking additional ire.
What he's saying: Biden said in the letter he has had "extensive conversations with the leadership of the party, elected officials, rank and file members and, most importantly, Democratic voters over the past 10 days or so."
"I have heard the concerns that people have ... I am not blind to them," Biden said.
But, he said, "I wouldn't be running again if I did not absolutely believe I was the best person to beat Donald Trump in 2024."
The president wrote that he is "firmly committed to staying in the race" and that "the question of how to move forward has been well-aired for over a week now. And it's time for it to end."
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What we're hearing: Biden's Monday letter is being met with mixed reaction on Capitol Hill.
One senior House Democrat, asked if they think the letter will succeed in extinguishing pressure on Biden to withdraw, told Axios: "No."
The new spin coming from Biden's people is that we must all accept the democratic results of the primary that Biden completely rigged. How can we save democracy if we don't accept democracy?
He's also now reframing himself as some kind of populist, and the real defender of the people from the machinations of "the elites."
A defiant President Biden expressed frustration Monday at Democratic "elites" who have called for him to drop out of the race, daring critics to "challenge [him]" at next month's Democratic convention in Chicago.
Why it matters: Ahead of a pivotal week to prove his skeptics wrong, Biden called into MSNBC's "Morning Joe" to reinforce a simple message: He's not going anywhere.
What they're saying: "If any of these guys don't think I should run, run against me. Go ahead. Announce for president -- challenge me at the convention," an animated Biden told his favorite cable news program.
"It drives me nuts people are talking about this," Biden said Monday of the discourse following his debate performance.
"The bottom line here is, we're not going anywhere. I'm not going anywhere," Biden said.
Politico:
President Joe Biden slammed his critics as "elites" in a live interview on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Monday, daring any challengers to run against him as he doubled down on his vow to stay in the race.
"I'm getting so frustrated by the elites -- now I'm not talking about you guys -- the elites in the party, 'Oh, they know so much more.' Any of these guys that don't think I should run, run against me. Announce for president, challenge me at the convention," Biden told hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski.
During the audio-only interview, Biden shot down Brzezinski's description of him as the presumptive Democratic nominee. "I'm more than the presumptive, I'm going to be the Democratic nominee," Biden said, laughing.
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Biden is leaning heavily into a strategy he's turned to in the past: casting his critics as "elites" who aren't in step with the average Democratic voter.
One of the primary reasons Biden has been visiting stops around the country was to "make sure my instinct was right about the party still wanting me to be the nominee," he said. Biden boasted about his "large" and "enthusiastic" crowds and made a jab at criticism that he relies on a teleprompter, saying "I did it all extemporaneously."
"I'm not getting any of what I was told. I wanted to make sure I was right, that the average voter out there still wanted Joe Biden," he said. "And I'm confident they do."
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He reiterated his belief that he is the best candidate to beat former President Donald Trump in November, who he said "hasn't done a damned thing since the debate" and is "riding around in his golf cart."
Biden, who it has been shown repeatedly cannot walk for more than 20 yards, is continuing to attack Trump for riding a golf cart instead of walking the course.
You'll remember that during the debate, Populist Joe challenged Trump to a golf game, "if you carry your own bag."
Populist Joe can't even carry his own colostomy bag, am i rite or am i rite
Populist Joe -- the candidate of the elites -- is so angry at those darned elites! He might even start challenging these elites to a push-up contest!
Biden, who is said to watch "Morning Joe" every morning, called into the show to renew his pledge after a total of nine Democrat lawmakers reportedly called for his resignation.
"They're big names! But I don't care what those big names think," Biden said when asked about his opposition. "I'm getting so frustrated by the elites ... the elites in the party."
"All the data, all the data shows that the average Democrat out there voted, and 14 million of them had voted for me. Still want me to be the nominee," he said.
Wait, isn't populism the most dangerous form of politics? Isn't it akin to fascism?
Well, there is no way to force Biden out of the race. And he does have 99% of the Democrat delegates from the rigged primary, and no one can free those delegates from Biden except Biden (or the Angel of Death).
But the pressure will continue to mount.
Unless it doesn't -- if Democrats get the message that Biden will not drop out for any reason and that continuing to talk about him being unfit for office is only guaranteeing a Trump victory, maybe they will stop the public campaign to pressure him to leave the race.
Axios says those committed to dumping Biden don't plan on stopping.
We're now in uncharted, historic waters: President Biden -- backed by first lady Jill Biden and his convicted son, Hunter, who's serving as de facto gatekeeper for longtime friends -- says that nothing, besides an act of God, will persuade him to quit his re-election campaign.
But outside Biden's protective bubble, a fast-growing number of Democrats are praying for --and plotting -- a more earthly intervention. They want everyone from the Obamas to congressional leaders to beg Biden to drop out by this Friday.
Why it matters: Biden and his Democratic critics share one common passion -- the intensity, certainty and irreversibility of their positions. Both plan fierce public and private campaigns to see who buckles.
It won't be him, Biden says publicly and privately. On a Saturday call with his national campaign co-chairs, Biden sounded full-speed ahead. He vowed to spend more time talking directly to voters, whether at town halls or press conferences.
The big picture: Democratic lawmakers have gone from shock, to sadness, to madness since the debate 10 days ago. These Democrats, further deflated by Biden's high-stakes ABC interview, believe there's nothing he can do to reverse the damage -- or his aging.
"The sh*t is going to hit the fan on Monday, when Congress returns," a House Democrat told us. "People are scared about their own races. But they're also worried about the country, and about democracy."
Lawmakers were antsy enough about Biden during their Fourth of July break this past week. There'll be even greater torque when they're venting, raging and plotting in person.
"Every single person not named Biden," or paid by the president, recognizes how deep a hole he's in, said a top Democratic operative who's talking nonstop to elected officials.
David Axelrod, former President Obama's political architect, described Biden's posture in an opinion piece Saturday: "Denial. Delusion. Defiance." Axe said a growing chorus of Democrats is "fearful of an electoral disaster."
A possible sign that Biden has brought Democrats back in line: Corrupt Deep State shill Mark Warner had called for a "huddle" with Democrat Senators to discuss Biden's place in the race -- and presumably, how to move him out of that place -- but that meeting has been called off.
Senate Democrats won't meet Monday to discuss their support for President Biden continuing his re-election bid, despite an effort by Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) to organize such a meeting, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: Warner's meeting had been seen as a potential watershed moment for Senate Democrats, who have remained largely silent on Biden's future amid calls for him to step aside.
The big picture: Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) last week was reaching out to Democratic senators about meeting to discuss Biden's path forward, but that meeting was never scheduled, a person familiar with Warner's thinking told Axios.
Details of the proposed meeting leaking out made it impossible for there to be a private conversation, the source said.
Senate Democrats as a whole will meet Tuesday for a regularly scheduled caucus meeting.
Speaking of A(xel)-Rod, he's saying it's more likely that Biden "loses in a landslide" than he "wins narrowly."
I mean, yes, that's obvious, but it's so rare to hear a Democrat say something truthful, we should note it every time it happens.
"He's not winning this race," said David Axelrod, who is credited as one of the key masterminds behind Obama's two presidential victories, to CNN's "Inside Politics."
"If you just look at the data and talk to people around the country, political people around the country, it's more likely that he'll lose by a landslide than win narrowly this race," Axelrod said of Biden, 81, who was Obama's vice president.
Biden's continuing his strategy of getting angry and "so frustrated" as a way to show Democrats He fights:
Is New Jersey really in play? Two polls have Trump ahead of Biden, barely, by one point in one poll, two points in the other.
The other poll was conducted by a Trump SuperPac:
Political Polls
@PpollingNumbers
NEW JERSEY Poll
Donald Trump 43%
Joe Biden 41%
Trump 38%
Biden 38%
Kennedy 8%
Stein 3%
United 2024 (GOP super PAC)
Note that Trump is tied in the four-way race.
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