The Democratic Party faced a looming crisis on Friday, as a broad range of lawmakers, party officials and activists began actively considering what had previously seemed like a pipe dream to pundits and anxious voters: the prospect of replacing President Joe Biden roughly four months before Election Day.
For two years, leading Democrats limited their concerns about Biden’s performance and age to private meetings and informal conversations. They were afraid that they would undermine the current president in a rematch with former president Donald Trump.
But with Biden’s performance during Thursday’s debate — irregular and sometimes disjointed, even faltering on politically beneficial topics like abortion rights — that conversation has exploded into the public domain.
