President Joe Biden is reportedly set to discuss the future of his re-election campaign Sunday, with his family at Camp David.
The development, first reported by NBC News Saturday night, come days after his disastrous debate performance. There, the commander-in-chief faced of with Donald Trump – all while stumbling over his words and losing his train of thought.
The display quickly sparked speculation as to whether the former senator is mentally fit for another four years, with some even calling it a de facto end to his campaign.
Camp David, meanwhile, is a 125-acre country retreat located in the hills of northern Maryland. A sort of getaway for the current president, it will reportedly now serve as the next stop of Biden’s post-debate campaign trail – one that appears deep-rooted in damage control.
That night, the Democrat had his team insist his dropping out would only ‘lead to weeks of chaos’, after being plagued by a banner with a pointed message during a visit to the Hamptons.
President Joe Biden is set to discuss the future of his re-election campaign Sunday – with his family at Camp David. Camp David is a 125-acre country retreat located in northern Maryland. Biden is seen walking to board Air Force One Saturday night in New Jersey
Hours earlier, Biden and First Lady Jill arrived on Marine One at East Hampton Airport, for a fundraiser attended by several well-heeled donors
‘The bedwetting brigade is calling for Joe Biden to ‘drop out.’ That is the best possible way for Donald Trump to win and us to lose,’ Biden deputy campaign manager Rob Flaherty argued in an email to supporters after the Hamptons visit.
‘First of all: Joe Biden is going to be the Democratic nominee, period. End of story. Voters voted. He won overwhelmingly,’ Flaherty went on.
‘And if he were to drop out, it would lead to weeks of chaos, internal foodfighting, and a bunch of candidates who limp into a brutal floor fight at the convention, all while Donald Trump has time to speak to American voters uncontested.’
He added: ‘All of that would be in service of a nominee who would go into a general election in the weakest possible position with zero dollars in their bank account.
‘You want a highway to losing? It’s that.’
The assertion was a pointed one, and appeared to come in direct response to a fly-over from a plane reportedly enlisted by an unidentified Republican donor, bearing a banner with the sign ‘BI-DONE!’
The craft was spotted flying high over the high-profile fundraiser in the afternoon – after the president and first lady had just landed a few hours earlier.
The pair proceeded to rub shoulders with a slew of moneyed donors – as the Times reported several ‘megadonors’ in Silicon Valley were trying to reach the first lady to sway her to convince Biden to bow out in favor of a younger candidate.
Those attempts have seemingly been unsuccessful – unlike the effort from the rumored donor from the other side who saw the anti-Biden sign flaunted from Montauk all the way to Sag Harbor.
There, a plane reportedly deployed by a rival Republican donor brandished a banner bearing the pointed message ‘Bi-done!’ – an apparent jab at the president’s chances following his poor debate performance
‘Spotted flying over East Hampton this evening…’ Trump tweeted afterwards, as he continues to come out fighting against his aging rival despite uncertainty surrounding his own court cases
Flaherty’s email, meanwhile, was framed as a fill-in-the blanks response newly unconfident voters could tell ‘your panicked aunt, your MAGA uncle, or some self-important Podcasters’ in the wake of Biden’s poor debate showing and amid calls for him to step aside.
The dubious debate display sparked speculation as to whether the former senator is mentally fit for another four years, as some went as far to frame it as a de facto end to his campaign.
Those responsible for the unsanctioned fly-over Saturday seemed to hone on the latter sentiment, parading the placard for countless high profile Democratic donors to see.
‘Spotted flying over East Hampton this evening…’ Trump tweeted afterwards, as he continues to come out fighting against his aging rival amid uncertainty surrounding his own court cases.
The message – the one on the plane – appeared to add fuel to the figurative fire that’s been lit under the Democratic Party, amid a new air of uncertainty as to the Party’s top choice as Biden’s halting debate performance continues to come into question.
A replacement would be possible but highly unlikely, experts have said – citing how the process would be complicated and open the door to the loss of a united front ahead of the DNC in August.
Afterward, an email from Biden’s team sent to supporters continued to defend the president, claiming that his dropping out would only ‘lead to weeks of chaos’
On Friday, Biden continued to defend his cognizance his debate performance the day before, speaking out at a rally in North Carolina. There, he told onlookers that he was still the party’s best bet at beating Trump.
‘I know I’m not a young man, – I don’t walk as easy as I used to, I don’t speak as smoothly as I used to, I don’t debate as well as I used to.
‘But I know what I do know,’ he continued, before receiving a round of uproarious applause. ‘I know how to tell the truth. I know right from wrong. I know how to do this job. I know how to get things done.’
‘I know, like many of Americans know, when you get knocked down, you get back up,’ he concluded.
The previously scheduled visit to Camp David, meanwhile, comes in the midst of all this, as many who previously backed Biden have begun to lose faith.
In an editorial over the weekend, the New York Times beseeched Biden to step aside, and several concerned aides on Saturday told Axios how the commander-in-chief should step down.
‘This is no longer about Joe Biden’s family or his emotions,’ one fed-up adviser in told the publication. ‘This is about our country. It’s an utter f***ing disaster that has to be addressed.’
Experts, meanwhile, have said the decision is ultimately up to president this late in the game, despite reportedly being too tired to work past 4 pm and struggling to wake before 10 am.
In an editorial over the weekend, the New York Times beseeched Biden to step aside, and several concerned aides on Saturday told Axios how the commander-in-chief should step down.
One Democratic House member who spoke to NBC News for its Saturday night piece about how the president will use the visit to reassess his reelection bid said they too believe Biden should drop out, but has yet to call for that publicly.
They said three colleagues expressed the same sentiment during votes on the House floor Friday, as Biden continued to defend himself in North Carolina.
Members of the house have also not wavered publicly, and their aides have also rejected the idea they are having second-thoughts behind closed doors.
‘Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi has full confidence in President Biden and looks forward to attending his inauguration on January 20, 2025,’ Ian Krager, a spokesman for the former House speaker said.
‘Any suggestion that she has engaged in a different course of action is simply not true.”
Christie Stephenson, a spokesperson for Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader, similarly added that her boss has ‘made clear publicly and privately that he supports President Joe Biden and the Democratic ticket from top to bottom.’
Brianna Frias, a spokeswoman for South Carolina’s Jim Clyburn, said the rep ‘has total confidence in President Joe Biden and the Biden-Harris ticket.
‘Any reports alleging that the Congressman has expressed anything other than firm support of President Biden are completely untrue,’ she told NBC News.
Experts, meanwhile, have said the decision is ultimately up to president this late in the game, despite reportedly being too tired to work past 4 pm and struggling to wake before 10 am. In North Carolina Friday, he insisted he was still the party’s best bet at beating Trump
That said, the Democrats could be giving their previous pick for president space as he mulls his next steps, with Camp David appearing to be a criticial juncture in this decision making process as insiders say First Lady Jill holds the most influence out of her husband’s inner circle.
‘The decision-makers are two people — it’s the president and his wife,” one of the sources familiar with the discussions told NBC News of this alread known dynamic.,
They added: ‘Anyone who doesn’t understand how deeply personal and familial this decision will be isn’t knowledgeable about the situation.’
Another person familiar with the matter echoed the idea Biden will only listen tohis wife of almost 50 years, telling the station, ‘The only person who has ultimate influence with him is the first lady.
If she decides there should be a change of course, there will be a change of course.”
The statements echoed those from insiders aired earlier in the day, after The New York Times reported that in private, she viewed Biden’s bumbling faceoff with his old rival as merely ‘a bad night.’
The bad night she referred to saw the Democratic Party’s top pick for the Oval Office repeatedly stumble over his words and constantly lose his train of thought, raising questions as to whether he is mentally fit for another four years.
After the publication of the NBC report, a source familiar with the dealing reportedly reached out to the station to stress how the Camp David gathering was not a formal family meeting.
In the interim, Biden’s top aides have told his staff to stay strong in meetings, airing the mission statement, ‘We’ll weather the storm, just like we always have,’ according to one senior administration official who spoke to NBC News
‘Any discussion about the campaign is expected to be informal or an afterthought,’ they said. ‘No one is sitting down for a formal or determinative discussion.’
In the interim, Biden’s top aides have told his staff to stay strong in meetings, airing the mission statement, ‘We’ll weather the storm, just like we always have,’ according to one senior administration official.
The Democratic National Committee’s official procedures for the convention, adopted in 2022, give the committee the authority to choose a new candidate if either member of the ticket dies or withdraws.
Biden also has the power to bow out of the race himself – by releasing all the pledged delegates he has accumulated.
That’s 3,894 of 3,937 so far, according to a tally by The Associated Press.
