Illinois Democrat says polling ‘only thing’ that can change Biden’s mind

Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) suggested that the “only thing” that could adjust President Biden’s decision about staying in the race post-debate is poll numbers.

Quigley emphasized during an interview Tuesday on CNN that Biden’s decision to continue is his alone, following a rocky debate performance last week against former President Trump. The Illinois Democrat suggested that weak polling in the wake of the event is the only thing that could sway the incumbent.

“So, it’s clear that what took place last week isn’t — doesn’t seem to influence his decision. I don’t know what will,” he told CNN’s Kasie Hunt. “I don’t know if his polling is — it probably takes what, three, four or five, up to a week to get decent polling. So as I assess, we’ll probably get that starting today or tomorrow.”

“The holiday will make polling more difficult, but I do think that’s probably the only thing out there right now that could change his mind or influence, that critical decision that again, only he can make,” he added.

He noted that while Biden has done an “extraordinary job,” the president needs “to be honest with himself.”

“I think what you’re getting to here is that this decision not only impacts who’s going to serve in the White House the next four years, but who’s going to serve in the Senate, who’s going to serve in the House that’ll have implications for decades to come,” he told Hunt.

He reiterated that Biden must make the decision knowing that it could impact races up and down the ballot when Hunt noted it sounded like the lawmaker is “actually open to the idea that it might be the right decision for him to step aside.”

“I think what I’m stressing is it has to be his decision,” Quigley said. “But we have to be honest with ourselves that it wasn’t just a horrible night, but I won’t go beyond that out of my respect and understanding.”

“President Joe Biden is a very proud person who has served this extraordinarily well for 50 years, but it’s his decision,” he continued. “I just want him to appreciate at this time, just how much it impacts not just his race, but all the other races coming in November.”

Biden’s campaign has maintained that the president will not be stepping aside following his poor debate showing last week, when the president appeared to lack energy and stumble over his answers. Instead, the campaign has touted fundraising numbers and released new ads to quell the concerns of voters and donors on both sides of the aisle.

Jen O’Malley Dillon, the Biden campaign’s senior adviser, wrote in a Saturday memo that “the beltway class is counting Joe Biden out” and that the state of the race remains unchanged following the debate.

“For all the hand-wringing coming out of Thursday, here’s the truth: This election was incredibly close before Thursday, and by every metric we’ve seen since, it remains just as close,” O’Malley Dillon wrote.