President Joe Biden lost the confidence of a handful more representatives on Sunday while he was campaigning in Pennsylvania.
During a conference call with top House Democrats, Reps. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), Adam Smith (D-WA), Mark Takano (D-CA), and Joe Morelle (D-NY) said the president needed to step aside in favor of another candidate, according to multiple reports. Most of the critics suggested Vice President Kamala Harris should take the mantle from her boss.
Biden hit the campaign trail over the weekend and attended several events on Sunday, beginning with a church service in Philadelphia. Speaking from notes during the service, Biden thanked the congregation for welcoming him home and invoked Scripture in his speech, reminding the crowd that “faith without works is dead.”
Later in the day, Biden cut his notecards loose, rubbing elbows with supporters and volunteers at the Roxborough Democratic Coordinated Campaign Office in Philadelphia. He was joined by Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA).
“This election is going to be about block-and-tackle and simple, basic politics,” Biden said, according to the pool report. “We’ve been drawing big crowds. Ever since the debate, not joking, even that night we had big crowds afterwards.”
House Democrats eyeing reelection in November have been quicker to say it’s time for Biden to call it quits than senators have. While roughly nine House members have made the demand of the president, fewer senators have suggested that it is time to hand the reins of the party to someone else.
“There’s only one person in this country who has kicked Trump’s a** in an election, and that is your president,” Fetterman said. “I know what it’s like to have a rough debate, and I’m standing here as your senator.”
Biden was joined by Fetterman, Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-PA), and Lt. Gov. Austin Davis (D-PA) at another event in Harrisburg later in the afternoon.
Once again speaking without notes, Biden avoided talking about the calls for him to step down or his disastrous debate performance with former President Donald Trump last month that sparked the recent criticism.
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Despite Biden delivering clear stump speeches without the use of notecards or a teleprompter on Sunday, the events were small. Biden has long thrived in the world of glad-handing and back-slapping, but as the 81-year-old continues to shuffle through events on the world stage or in prime time, alarm bells are going off for Democrats who are worried the president is acting like an anchor around the necks of House members in must-win contests.
Nadler became the highest-profile member to break ranks publicly with the president. His seniority in the House, which he has worked in since 1992, could be the beginning of a string of more well-known Democrats putting pressure on the president.
