President Biden looked out and saw people wearing T-shirts emblazoned with his trademark aviator sunglasses. He viewed signs that read, “Women for Biden-Harris.” He heard a crowd chanting, “Four more years! Four more years!” He saw children eating ice cream — and determined he would like some, too.
What he didn’t see is what was happening at that very moment Sunday afternoon, on a call among senior congressional Democrats who were worried about the state of Biden’s campaign: Several expressed dismay and said he should end his reelection bid, adding to a louder chorus of party officials wanting to change course.
Over a span of 72 hours, as Biden campaigned in two key swing states and returned to Washington, what became increasingly clear is just how differently things look to the Democratic standard-bearer than to many in his party.
Where they see polls predicting political calamity, he sees a dead heat. Where they see a rapidly aging man who should sit for cognitive tests, he sees no problem that can’t be fixed with a display of energy and force. Where they see a 90-minute debate that showcased the state of his mental acuity, he see
Everyone in the party concedes that it is Biden’s decision — and his alone — whether to continue his reelection bid. But the self-professed congenital optimist now finds himself trying to convince a party that has grown increasingly pessimistic, with an increasing number of Democrats fearful that unless things change, Republicans are poised for a landslide victory and Donald Trump is headed for the White House.
But in the eyes of a president who often relishes the mentality of an underdog, he has taken a posture of Joe Biden Against the World (or at least some in his party).
Biden in recent days has held several rallies aimed at showing that he still has the enthusiastic support of the party’s rank-and-file. But those events contrasted starkly with the somber mood outside, creating a challenge for skeptics who are pointing to less-tangible indicators like troubling polls, mounting defections and withheld donations.
