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☆ Why the Kamala Harris of Four Years Ago Could Haunt Her in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-29 | by ( Reid J. Epstein | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

When she ran for president the first time, Kamala Harris darted to the left as she fought for attention from the Democratic Party’s liberal wing. After she dropped out, social and racial justice protests swept across the country in the summer of 2020, and Ms. Harris joined other Democrats in supporting progressive ideas during what appeared to be a national realignment on criminal justice. One presidential cycle later, with Vice President Harris less than a week into another race for the White House, video clips of her old statements and interviews are being weaponized as Republicans aim to define her as a left-wing radical who is out of step with swing voters. Former President Donald J. Trump is calling out her past positions and statements at his rallies, and on Monday his campaign began reserving time for television advertisements that are likely to resurface videos of Ms. Harris.

Persons: Kamala Harris darted, Harris, Donald J, Trump Organizations: Democratic Party’s, White

☆ Roy Cooper Withdraws From Harris’s Vice-Presidential Field
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-29 | by ( Shane Goldmacher | Reid J. Epstein | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Roy Cooper of North Carolina, who had been seen as a leading contender to become Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate, has withdrawn from the vice-presidential sweepstakes. Mr. Cooper confirmed the news, reported earlier by The New York Times, in a social media post on Monday night. “This just wasn’t the right time for North Carolina and for me to potentially be on a national ticket,” Mr. Cooper wrote. “She has an outstanding list of people from which to choose, and we’ll all work to make sure she wins.”Mr. Cooper, who previously served as chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, was asked last week by the Harris campaign to be vetted for vice president but declined to participate, according to two people engaged in the process, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private conversations.

Persons: Roy Cooper of, Kamala Harris’s, Cooper, Mr, “, ” Mr, Harris Organizations: The New York Times, North, Democratic Governors Association Locations: Roy Cooper of North Carolina, North Carolina

On Today’s Episode:Arson Disrupts Trains Ahead of Opening Ceremony at Olympics, by Aurelien Breeden, John Yoon and Andrew DasHarris Narrows Gap Against Trump, Times/Siena Poll Finds, by Shane Goldmacher, Ruth Igielnik and Camille BakerObama Endorses Harris for the Democratic Nomination, by Jazmine Ulloa and Reid J. EpsteinSpeculation Swirls About What Hit Trump. An Analysis Suggests It Was a Bullet, by Malachy Browne, Devon Lum, and Alexander CardiaTwo Top Mexican Cartel Leaders Are Arrested by U.S. Authorities, by Alan Feuer and Natalie Kitroeff

Persons: Aurelien Breeden, John Yoon, Andrew Das, Shane Goldmacher, Ruth Igielnik, Camille Baker Obama, Harris, Jazmine Ulloa, Reid J, Epstein, Malachy Browne, Devon Lum, Alexander Cardia, Alan Feuer, Natalie Kitroeff Organizations: Times, Democratic, Mexican, U.S . Authorities Locations: Trump

Ms. Harris was receiving 93 percent support from Democrats, the same share that Mr. Trump was getting from Republicans. Overall, Mr. Trump leads Ms. Harris 48 percent to 47 percent among likely voters in a head-to-head match. Mr. Trump leads Ms. Harris 48 percent to 46 percent among registered voters. The country’s view of Ms. Harris has also brightened, with her favorable rating rising by 10 percentage points since February. In a multicandidate race, less than a single percentage point separated Mr. Trump and Ms. Harris, with Ms. Harris at 44 percent and Mr. Trump at 43 percent after rounding.

Persons: Kamala Harris, Donald Trump, Donald J, Trump, Biden, Harris, Nate Cohn, Mr, Erin Schaff, Harris’s, JD Vance, Ohio, “, ”, Summer Nesbitt, Nesbitt, Biden’s, Trump’s, … Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Harris —, don’t, Eddie Otzoy, Hillary Clinton, Michael Newman, —, Robert F, Kennedy Jr, ” Harris Trump, Christine Zhang Organizations: New York Times, Siena College, Democratic Party, Democratic, Mr, Republicans, Times, Credit, The New York Times, Sun, Republican National Convention, Trump, Siena, “, Democrats Locations: Siena, Atlanta, Nevada , Arizona, Georgia, Detroit, Pennsylvania, Los Angeles, Arlington , Texas

☆ Harris Rallies Exuberant Democrats in Wisconsin: ‘The Baton Is in Our Hands’
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-23 | by ( Reid J. Epstein | Simon J. Levien | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Delivering a jolt of enthusiasm to a party reeling from weeks of infighting, Vice President Kamala Harris rallied Democrats on Tuesday in Wisconsin and laid out a fierce argument against former President Donald J. Trump. Ms. Harris vowed, in her first rally as the de facto Democratic presidential nominee, to defeat Mr. Trump by attacking him as a prosecutor would. She walked out to cheers to the tune of Beyoncé’s “Freedom,” which the singer had allowed her to use. As one attendee put it, the moment felt like a release of months of pent-up Democratic energy. She highlighted the $100 million in contributions since Sunday and took a victory lap for effectively wrapping up the Democratic presidential nomination within 48 hours.

Persons: Kamala Harris, Donald J, Trump, Harris, Biden, “, ” Ms Organizations: Democratic Locations: Wisconsin

On Today’s Episode:Harris Clinches Majority of Delegates as She Closes In on Nomination, by Shane Goldmacher and Reid J. EpsteinTrump’s New Rival May Bring Out His Harshest Instincts, by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan SwanSeeking Answers, Lawmakers From Both Parties Ask Secret Service Chief to Quit, by Luke Broadwater, David A. Fahrenthold, Hamed Aleaziz and Campbell RobertsonFrustrated Californians May Be Ready for a Tougher Approach to Crime, by Tim Arango

Persons: Harris, Shane Goldmacher, Reid J, Epstein Trump’s, Maggie Haberman, Jonathan Swan, Luke Broadwater, David A, Fahrenthold, Hamed Aleaziz, Campbell Robertson, Tim Arango

☆ Election Live Updates: Democratic Support for Harris Snowballs as She Starts Her Bid for President
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-22 | by ( Peter Baker | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +10 min

The tight timeline will magnify any missteps Ms. Harris might make but also minimize the chances for a stumble. And in a race that Mr. Trump had been on a trajectory to win, Ms. Harris immediately becomes the ultimate X-factor. She was making the argument for herself but the logic applies to Ms. Harris, too. Her day job is not nearly as demanding as Mr. Biden’s, and she can barnstorm the country at a pace far faster than Mr. Trump has undertaken. And while Ms. Harris did not carve out a reputation in California as an outspoken progressive — her tagline as D.A.

Persons: Kamala Harris, Donald J, Biden’s, Harris, Trump, Biden, Nikki Haley, Mr, ” Erin Wilson, Harris’s, She’s, Trump’s, Dave Sanders, —, Scranton Joe, ’ Harris, Yuri Gripas, Hillary Clinton, Erin Schaff, Reid J, Epstein Organizations: Democratic, Trump, Democratic Party, Republican, Trump Republicans, Democrats, The New York Times, Committee, Mr, New York, The Trump, Biden, Black, ABC, Fox News, Republicans, Air Force, Senate Locations: Europe, Manhattan, New, California, San Francisco, Milwaukee

Powerful leaders of the Democratic establishment quickly embraced Vice President Kamala Harris on Sunday after President Biden’s shocking exit from the race, hoping that a seamless succession could end a month of damaging chaos and transform a contest widely believed to be tipping toward Republicans. With breathtaking speed, she took control of Mr. Biden’s enormous political operation and contacted Democratic leaders in Congress and state houses to ask for their support. The Biden campaign formally renamed itself “Harris for President,” giving her immediate access to an account that had $96 million in cash at the end of June. On an internal call, the Biden campaign’s leaders told staff members that they would now work for Ms. Harris. “I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party — and unite our nation — to defeat Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda,” Ms. Harris said in a statement.

Persons: Kamala Harris, Biden’s, Harris, Barack Obama, Biden, “ Harris, ”, “, Donald Trump, Ms Organizations: Democratic, Sunday, Biden, Democratic Party —

☆ Election Live Updates: Trump and Vance Set for First Joint Rally, as Biden Vows to Return to Trail
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-20 | by ( Chris Cameron | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

“No matter the strength of their arguments.”Democratic officials also said the virtual roll call should not happen before Aug. 1. The convention’s rules committee will vote in a meeting next week on whether to conduct a virtual roll call. On Friday, at least eight more Congressional Democrats, including Senator Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, called on Mr. Biden to withdraw from the race. changed its process to nominate Mr. Biden to accommodate an Aug. 7 deadline to place him on the ballot in Ohio. chair, acknowledged the controversy over holding a virtual roll call but defended the move as transparent, necessary and long planned.

Persons: Biden, Dana Remus, Remus, ” Ms, Mr, Donald J, Trump, Martin Heinrich of, Jaime Harrison, ” Mr, Harrison, ”, Tim Walz, Leah Daughtry, —, Biden —, Terry McAuliffe, Howard Dean, Donna Brazile, Daughtry, Minyon Moore, Reid J, Epstein Organizations: Democratic, Democratic National, Biden, Democratic National Committee, Lawmakers Locations: Ohio, Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, Delaware, Minnesota

Even before the debate, Mr. Biden had told confidants that he believed he had a far better chance than Ms. Harris of beating Mr. Trump. By making the case for himself publicly and privately, Mr. Biden has implicitly had to downplay her chances of winning. Image Mr. Biden arriving in Dover, Del., late Wednesday night, on his way to spend time at his home in Rehoboth Beach. “She’s not only a great vice president,” Mr. Biden said at the N.A.A.C.P. Brenda Pollard, a Democratic delegate for Mr. Biden, said she hoped Mr. Biden would not step down as the nominee.

Persons: Biden, Kamala Harris’s, Biden’s, Kamala Harris, Harris’s, Donald J, Trump, Jeff Zients, Biden —, Zients, Shuwanza Goff, Harris, Doug Mills, —, Mr, confidants, Yuri Gripas, Joe Biden —, Donald Trump, ”, Kirsten Allen, Eric Lee, J.D, Vance of Ohio, Kamala ”, “, Ms, “ She’s, ” Mr, Brenda Pollard, he’ll, Pollard, ‘, ” Ms Organizations: White, White House, New York Times, Mr, Democratic, Communications, The New York Times, Credit, Trump —, Biden, Republican National Convention, Department of Justice, Republican, West Wing Locations: Delaware, Dover, Del, Rehoboth Beach . Credit, San Francisco, Dallas, Greensboro, N.C, Nevada, Las Vegas, United States, Washington, Durham

☆ Biden’s Support From Big Donors Is Said to Plummet
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-18 | by ( Reid J. Epstein | Maggie Haberman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Wealthy supporters of President Biden’s campaign have slammed their wallets closed, with support from major donors in July on track to plummet to roughly half of the previous month’s amount if he remains in the race, according to four people briefed on the campaign’s finances. The campaign had hoped to raise about $50 million from large donors into the Biden Victory Fund, which diverts money to the Biden campaign, the Democratic National Committee and the state Democratic parties. That was the amount that large donors gave in June, according to one of the people briefed on the matter. Mr. Biden raised $28 million in one night in June at a Hollywood fund-raiser that was hosted by the actor George Clooney. Last week, Mr. Clooney urged Mr. Biden to end his campaign.

Persons: Biden’s, Biden, George Clooney, Clooney, Mr Organizations: Biden, Fund, Democratic National Committee, Democratic

On Today’s Episode:Biden Called ‘More Receptive’ to Hearing Pleas to Step Aside, by Carl Hulse, Michael S. Schmidt, Reid J. Epstein, Peter Baker and Luke BroadwaterBiden Tests Positive for Covid, by Michael D. ShearJ.D. Vance Plants His Appalachian Roots in the 2024 Race, by Michael C. BenderAt R.N.C., Senators Berate Secret Service Director Over Assassination Attempt, by Jonathan SwanGunman’s Phone Had Details About Both Trump and Biden, F.B.I. Officials Say, by Glenn Thrush, Jack Healy and Luke BroadwaterA Blind Spot and a Lost Trail: How the Gunman Got So Close to Trump, by David A. Fahrenthold, Glenn Thrush, Campbell Robertson, Adam Goldman and Aric TolerAn Algorithm Told Police She Was Safe. Then Her Husband Killed Her, by Adam Satariano and Roser Toll Pifarré

Persons: Biden, ‘, Carl Hulse, Michael S, Schmidt, Reid J, Epstein, Peter Baker, Luke Broadwater, Michael D, Michael C, Bender, Jonathan Swan, Glenn Thrush, Jack Healy, David A, Campbell Robertson, Adam Goldman, Aric, Adam Satariano Organizations: Vance, Trump, Biden, F.B.I

☆ Jamie Raskin, a Key Democrat, Urged Biden to Reconsider Campaign
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-18 | by ( Reid J. Epstein | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland, a key member of the House committee that investigated the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, sent President Biden a four-page letter this month that compared the 81-year-old commander in chief to a tiring baseball pitcher and urged him to consult with fellow Democrats about whether to continue his campaign. Mr. Raskin opened his letter, which was dated July 6 and was obtained by The New York Times, by writing that he shared Mr. Biden’s “mad love for American democracy and freedom.”The letter, the authenticity of which Mr. Raskin confirmed on Thursday, begins with nearly three pages of lavish praise for Mr. Biden. Mr. Raskin writes that he wishes to “remind you of your true greatness as a leader” and spends several paragraphs recounting Mr. Biden’s legislative achievements and defense of democracy. But the crux of the letter is a four-paragraph metaphor comparing the president to the Boston Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martínez, a Hall of Famer who was left on the mound for the eighth inning of Game Seven of the 2003 American League Championship Series despite being tired. Mr. Martínez allowed three runs, tying the game before the Yankees won with a walk-off home run in the 11th inning that denied the Red Sox a trip to the World Series, which they had not won in 85 years.

Persons: Jamie Raskin, Biden, Raskin, Biden’s, Mr, ”, Pedro Martínez, Martínez Organizations: Maryland, Capitol, The New York Times, Boston Red Sox, Famer, Yankees, Red Sox

Democrats’ rebellion against President Biden intensified on Wednesday with the party’s congressional leaders lobbying successfully to delay his nomination by a week, prolonging the debate over the viability of his candidacy. The maneuver came as Representative Adam B. Schiff of California became the highest-profile Democratic lawmaker to call on Mr. Biden to end his run. More details have emerged of heated conversations the president has held with lawmakers in which he has angrily pushed back on their entreaties for him to drop out of the race. Mr. Biden’s disastrous debate performance last month, his uneven public appearances and his struggles in the polls have fueled deep worries within his party. Congressional Democrats have also warned that Mr. Biden’s sagging political standing will make it far harder for them to win critical House and Senate races in November.

Persons: Biden, Adam B, Schiff, Donald J, Trump, Biden’s Organizations: California, Capitol, Associated Press, University of Chicago, Congressional

Leaders of the Democratic National Committee are moving swiftly to confirm President Biden as his party’s presidential nominee by the end of July, according to four people briefed on the matter who insisted on anonymity to discuss the sensitive deliberations. The move would formalize Mr. Biden as the nominee at a moment when Democrats are torn over whether he should run again after his poor debate performance. Since May, he has been set to be confirmed through a virtual roll call, weeks before the Democratic National Convention in August. But as Mr. Biden faces persistent doubts from within his party, some delegates involved with the behind-the-scene bureaucratic process are eager to end the public conversations about his future that are unfolding during a fiercely contested campaign.

Persons: Biden Organizations: Democratic National Committee, Democratic National Convention

As the Republican convention opens on Monday, Democrats find themselves in a state of suspended animation and dread that the election could be tilting further away from President Biden. While there have been no new public calls from congressional Democrats for Mr. Biden to drop out since the assassination attempt on former President Donald J. Trump on Saturday, many in the party maintain grave concerns about the president’s ability to win. The last three weeks have been a cascade of fast-moving and damaging events for Mr. Biden. The shooting on Saturday complicated what Mr. Biden’s campaign believes is one of its most potent campaign messages: that Mr. Trump poses an immediate and active threat to American democracy. Mr. Trump’s in-the-moment response — the raised fist and bloodied face that instantly became a defining image — sent Democrats into yet another tailspin.

Persons: Biden, Donald J, Trump, Biden’s, Trump’s, — Organizations: Republican, Mr, Sunday, Democratic

☆ Live Updates: Authorities Find Explosives in Car of Gunman Killed in Assassination Attempt on Trump
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-14 | by ( Michael D. Shear | Mike Ives | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +11 min

“I will Never Surrender!” Mr. Trump wrote in a text message to supporters. And Mr. Trump is preparing to name his running mate and formally claim his party’s nomination for the third consecutive election. Vance of Ohio, who is on the shortlist of candidates that Mr. Trump is considering as a running mate, wrote on X. “An assassination attempt is contrary to everything we stand for as a nation,” Mr. Biden said. Mr. Trump had assured Malphine Fogel, who lives in Butler County, that he would help get her son home.

Persons: Donald J, Trump’s, Trump, Biden’s, Biden, ”, Mr, “, Susie Wiles, Chris LaCivita, LaCivita, Doug Mills, Ronald Reagan, Melania Trump, Douglas Brinkley, Butler, ” Mr, Brinkley, “ Trump, Dan Crenshaw, Lara Trump, Kenny Holston, Donald Trump, J.D, Vance of Ohio, Lester Holt, Pramila Jayapal, Eric Lee, Nancy Pelosi, Gabby Giffords, Steve Scalise, “ It’s, Scalise, Mike Johnson, ” “ We’ve, Johnson, Christine Toretti, committeewoman, gee, Ms, Toretti, Malphine Fogel, Mike Kelly, ” Reid J, Epstein, Lisa Lerer Organizations: White, Republican National Convention, Trump, Washington, Republicans, New York Times, Rice University, ”, Republican, Republican National Committee, Trump . Federal, NBC, Congressional Progressive Caucus, Mr, Capitol, Arizona Democrat, Fox News, Louisiana Republican, Homeland Security, Pennsylvania Republican Locations: Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, Milwaukee, West Palm Beach, “ America, Butler , Pennsylvania, Texas, Trump ., America, Washington, San Francisco, Arizona, Louisiana, Butler County

Reid J. Epstein covers campaigns and elections from Washington. Before joining The Times in 2019, he worked at The Wall Street Journal, Politico, Newsday and The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. See more on: U.S.

Persons: Reid J, Epstein Organizations: The Times, Wall Street, Politico, Newsday, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Locations: Washington

☆ A Fiery Biden, Ignoring Critics, Attacks Trump to Chants of ‘Lock Him Up’
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-12 | by ( Nicholas Nehamas | Reid J. Epstein | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

President Biden on Friday strove to turn the nation’s attention back to former President Donald J. Trump, delivering a fiery and energetic speech in battleground Michigan that painted his Republican rival as a convict, a rapist and a cheater while simultaneously attacking the news media for an insufficient focus on such misdeeds. Even as Mr. Biden faces mounting pressure from congressional Democrats and major donors, he largely ignored the brewing Democratic revolt over his refusal to drop out of the race, beyond an emphatic statement that “I am running, and we’re going to win.”The president’s defiance, and the crowd’s enthusiastic response, helped give the Biden event at a Detroit high school gym the flavor of a Trump rally at times. When Mr. Biden referred to his political opponent, there were chants of “Lock him up” — which the president did not discourage. When he criticized news media coverage, big cheers followed, with his supporters turning to boo and point fingers at reporters. Mr. Biden thundered that his rival was a “convicted criminal” and a “business fraud,” and said that he had “raped” the writer E. Jean Carroll, whom Mr. Trump was found liable of sexually abusing by a civil court.

Persons: Biden, Donald J, “, Mr, Biden thundered, ”, Jean Carroll, Trump Organizations: Trump Locations: Michigan, Detroit

When aides to President Biden heard in recent days that George Clooney, as close a figure as there is in Hollywood to royalty, planned to publicly break with Mr. Biden in an essay that cast doubt on his re-election chances, panic set in from Wilmington to Beverly Hills. Could Mr. Clooney be persuaded not to publish it? Mr. Katzenberg, who moonlights as a top Biden official and has worked with Mr. Clooney on philanthropy for decades, reached out to him to see if there was an off-ramp, according to three people familiar with the matter. There was not — Mr. Clooney published his essay in The New York Times, and the president’s relationship with Hollywood was torn asunder. The fallout from the Clooney essay has ricocheted across the worlds of politics and entertainment — and onto Mr. Katzenberg himself.

Persons: Biden, George Clooney, Clooney, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Katzenberg, ”, Billy Ray, “ Organizations: Biden, New York Times, Hollywood, Democratic Locations: Hollywood, Wilmington, Beverly Hills

But leaning into the microphone and whispering to dramatize his defiance, Mr. Biden made clear that he did not foresee this happening. “No poll says that.”He seemed to open the door to an alternative, then swiftly shut it. Sure, “other people can beat Trump,” he said, but it would be too hard to “start from scratch.”The president’s first news conference since the debate amounted to a competent presentation, if not a compelling performance. But it remained in doubt whether it was enough to stop the bleeding of Democratic support that has threatened to hemorrhage. Minutes after he left the stage, the drip-drip-drip of Democratic members of Congress calling for him to step aside continued unabated.

Persons: Biden, ”, “ Organizations: Trump

☆ George Clooney, a Major Biden Fund-Raiser, Urges Him to Drop Out
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-10 | by ( Reid J. Epstein | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

George Clooney, the Hollywood actor and Democratic financial powerhouse who co-hosted a major fund-raiser for President Biden last month, wrote in a New York Times guest essay on Wednesday that Mr. Biden was too old to seek re-election and should end his campaign. “The one battle he cannot win is the fight against time,” Mr. Clooney wrote. “It’s devastating to say it, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fund-raiser was not the Joe ‘big F-ing deal’ Biden of 2010. He wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020. Mr. Biden later blamed jet lag from that trip for his lethargy in the days leading up to the first debate and his weak performance during it.

Persons: George Clooney, Biden, ” Mr, Clooney, “, Joe Biden, Joe ‘, ’ Biden, wasn’t Organizations: Hollywood, Democratic, New York Times, Mr Locations: Hollywood, Italy, California, Washington

President Biden spoke directly to some of his biggest fund-raisers and donors on Monday, repeating his assertion that he was staying in the race and telling them they needed to shift the focus of the campaign away from him and onto former President Donald J. Trump. “I have one job, to beat Donald Trump,” Mr. Biden said on a call with his campaign’s National Finance Committee, adding that he was “the best person” to do that, according to a listener who relayed the president’s remark to The New York Times. He said it was time to put Mr. Trump in the “bull’s-eye,” according to a second listener. The president’s 19-minute remarks to donors amounted to the most formal entreaty to his financiers since his poor debate performance over a week ago that they should stay the course. His appearance, which was announced to his fund-raisers just 24 minutes before the call was set to begin, came after he sent a defiant letter to congressional Democrats on Monday morning rejecting the idea that he should drop out and gave an interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” in which he invited challengers to try to stop him at the party’s convention next month.

Persons: Biden, Donald J, “, Donald Trump, ” Mr, Trump, Joe ” Organizations: Trump, National Finance Committee, New York Times

☆ Biden’s Strategy to Make the Race About Trump Is Suddenly in Doubt
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-08 | by ( Reid J. Epstein | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

From the outset of President Biden’s re-election campaign, the plan for winning was to make former President Donald J. Trump so unpalatable that voters uneasy with the incumbent would vote for him anyway. But now Mr. Biden is stuck in a political tailspin, with an abysmal debate performance highlighting his inability to make a case against Mr. Trump and prompting a collective national hand-wringing about his ability to do his job while an increasing number of House Democrats say he should leave the race. To get voters to focus on the threats posed by a second Trump administration, Mr. Biden’s own allies say he first must escape his current doom loop and convince voters — even and especially fellow Democrats — that he is up to the job himself. “The focus has to shift back to Trump and what rights we lose if he’s president,” said Representative Eric Swalwell of California, who ran against Mr. Biden for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. “The last three elections have shown us if you’re the focus, you lose.”Indeed, the Biden campaign has long sought to make Mr. Trump its focus.

Persons: Biden’s, Donald J, Trump, Biden, —, ”, Eric Swalwell of, “, Mr, Trump’s Organizations: Democrats, Trump, Mr, Democratic Locations: Eric Swalwell of California

Senator Mark Warner, Democrat of Virginia, is working to convene Democratic senators next week to discuss a path forward after President Biden’s disastrous debate performance, and to discuss their concerns about him remaining as the nominee, according to five people with direct knowledge about the effort. The push by Mr. Warner reflects a mounting sense of panic among some Democrats in the Senate about Mr. Biden’s viability to continue in the presidential race, and growing frustration among senators that the president and those around him have not communicated directly with them about how they plan to address such concerns. The people insisted on anonymity to discuss Mr. Warner’s efforts, and a spokeswoman for the senator did not respond to requests for comment. His outreach efforts were reported earlier by The Washington Post. While some House Democrats have been outspoken in their harsh assessments of Mr. Biden’s performance last week — and three have called on him to end his candidacy — most senators have so far been quieter about their concerns.

Persons: Mark Warner, Biden’s, Warner Organizations: Democrat, Democratic, Senate, The Washington Post, Democrats Locations: Virginia

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