'Not even in the same book': Democrats divided after tense meetings about Joe Biden

Dissent grows while an unenthusiastic majority of Democrats rally behind the embattled US President

US President Joe Biden at the first debate of the 2024 campaign last month. Getty Images / AFP

Are Democrats on the same page about US President Joe Biden's candidacy in the pivotal November elections? According to one congressman, they're “not even in the same book”.

The bleak remark made by an exasperated Steve Cohen, a representative from Tennessee, came as he was exiting a party meeting about Mr Biden, after the President's botched debate performance sent his party spiralling over their diminishing odds of winning the election against Republican Donald Trump.

Tuesday's meeting was the first time Democrats had convened since the Fourth of July holiday and long weekend.

The most senior Democrats attempted on Tuesday to project a steady confidence.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters simply: “I'm with Joe.”

At a post-meeting conference with leading House Democrats, Hakeem Jeffries, the top-ranking Democrat in the Republican-controlled chamber, was noticeably absent.

Democratic Caucus chairman Pete Aguilar said that party leadership “is asking their members to talk about the importance of preventing Donald Trump from ever setting foot in the White House” and gaining a majority in the House of Representatives.

But that goal ignores the fact that Mr Biden's determination to stay in the race could enable a second Trump term. Vulnerable Democrats in the House worry that his name at the top of the ballot could affect their re-election odds, too.

Three quarters of US voters say the Democratic Party would be more likely to hold the presidency in 2024 with someone other than Mr Biden leading the ticket, a post-debate CNN poll found.

Many of those who have publicly called for him to step aside are running in deeply vulnerable districts, leading to concerns that a lack of enthusiasm for the President could also flip their seats in the House to the Republicans.

Mr Aguilar seemed unprepared to directly answer questions about this, even with his stated goal of Democrats doing “everything we can” to ensure a Democratic majority in the House in November.

“I'm not going to get into campaign tactics and all the private conversations I have with candidates running,” he told reporters.

“I flipped a Republican held seat in a really rough year in 2014 … and I try to encourage them to just continue to press ahead.”

A majority of Democrats to have given a position on Mr Biden's candidacy since the debate have backed him.

Congressman Jim Clyburn, who previously said he would support Vice President Kamala Harris leading the Democratic ticket if Mr Biden were to step aside, told reporters as he departed the meeting that “we are riding with Biden”, dodging follow-up questions and repeating the comment like a mantra.

And high-ranking Congressman Jerry Nadler switched his position from reportedly telling colleagues on a weekend call that he believed Mr Biden should step aside, to speaking in favour of the President on his way to meet fellow Democrats.

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also backed Mr Biden on Monday evening – an important endorsement from a member of the party's younger, more progressive wing.

But there are still increasing calls within the party for a shake-up to the Democratic ticket, including from Congressman Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee.

Mr Smith on Monday night said that Democrats “must put Joe Biden's ego aside”.

“I'm pleading with them, take a step back, look at what is best for the party, what is best for the country,” he said.

The turmoil comes at a deeply awkward moment for Mr Biden – with his legitimacy in question by his own party while he hosts world leaders in Washington for the Nato summit.

According to briefs provided by reporters on the White House press pool, European diplomats in the US capital say “they'll be closely observing President Biden at the summit, especially in light of recent calls for him to withdraw from the race”.