Democratic consultant Paul Begala sounded the alarm Monday on Democrats’ feelings toward President Joe Biden’s chances to win reelection against Donald Trump.
A growing number of Democrats have grown divided on Biden’s chances of winning in November following his performance during the June 27 debate, reflecting voters’ concerns about his age and mental capabilities. He said the party is failing to stand united ahead of the 2024 election as they continue to cast doubt on Biden’s candidacy.
“This is what’s so maddening. Millions and millions of people voted for Joe Biden, I’m one of them. Their votes should be honored. But something has happened. Millions and millions of those folks who voted for Joe Biden, most of them candidly in the polling, say we saw the debate, we don’t think he can beat Donald Trump. That’s the thing. Political parties are not a family … parties exist to win. And more and more Democrats are telling me they don’t think Biden can win,” Begala said.
Democrat consultant Paul Begala sounded the alarm on Biden’s reelection chances pic.twitter.com/zY89fOffOa
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) July 8, 2024
Democrats have told the CNN political commentator they “cannot afford” for Trump to defeat Biden, he said. (RELATED: Trump Pulling Away From Biden With Key Dem Voting Blocs: POLL)
Republican consultant Shermichael Singleton said Biden’s increased media attention since the debate has not caused frustration for Trump as he has further strengthened his operations and has improved in the polls. A series of polls found that Trump more than doubled his lead over Biden ahead of the election since the debate, with a FiveThirtyEight survey finding Trump leading Biden nationally by 42% to 39% as of Monday, an increase from 41% to 40% lead on the day of the debate.
Begala further noted Democrats’ divisions over Biden are hurting their chances of victory in the election, particularly after the debate.
Biden and his spokespeople have asserted he simply had a “bad night” and suffered from a cold during the debate, though his aides never mentioned any illnesses before the event.
A slew of House Democrats have called on the president to withdraw from the race during a nearly two-hour private call with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Among these Democrats are New York Rep. Jerry Nadler, Washington Rep. Adam Smith, California Rep. Mark Takano and New York Rep. Joe Morelle. Texas Rep. Lloyd Doggett became the first congressional Democrat to call for Biden’s departure from the race, and Arizona Rep. Raúl Grijalva, Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton and Illinois Rep. Mike Quigley soon followed.
