Progressives circle wagons around embattled Biden

Progressives are standing behind President Biden, turning their constant critique of him into solidarity at a pivotal moment.

The question is: For how long?

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and the rest of the “squad” are defending the 81-year-old president as several of their moderate colleagues on Capitol Hill have called for him to step down. 

Publicly, their support is an effort to quell concerns over his chances of winning the White House against former President Trump. But some strategists and sources close to progressive members say they may be playing a longer game behind closed doors, where they could help persuade him delicately in private if more elected Democrats say he should drop out.

“I think they’re buying time and creating space for private pressure,” said one Democratic strategist close to key progressives in Congress. “This is very much a ball game.”

Democrats have been all over the map since the Atlanta debate two weeks ago. A scattering of centrists in the House have urged Biden to step down in the wake of his disastrous showing. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has expressed that he is open to someone besides Biden at the top of the ticket, according to Axios, while Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) was the first in the upper chamber to outright call for him to halt his campaign.

But high-profile progressives have either remained notably vocal in their support of Biden or uncharacteristically mum — at least for now.

“It’s corporate Democrats that are driving this carriage off the cliff,” said Angelo Greco, a progressive organizer who worked for Sanders’s 2020 campaign. 

Ocasio-Cortez has emerged as perhaps one of the most surprising public defenders of Biden.

“I have spoken with him extensively,” she told a gaggle of reporters in Washington. “He made clear then and he has made clear since that he is in this race.”

“The matter is closed,” she concluded. 

But the past 24 hours have demonstrated otherwise.

Several more House Democrats have added their voices to the growing chorus of party members calling on the incumbent to drop out of the race. None of them are in the “squad,” even as some of the high-profile progressives have criticized Biden in no uncertain terms over his stance on issues like the Israel-Hamas war.

One source close to Ocasio-Cortez, who has worked with her on strategy, told The Hill that she “provides a lot of cover” by being so outwardly vocal for Biden. The same goes for Sanders, who, since losing to Biden last presidential cycle, has been a reliable ally by squashing any speculation that he may support a progressive stepping in. 

“Alexandria is an outspoken supporter at this point,” the source close to the New York congresswoman said. 

Another leading progressive, Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, whose primary election is on Aug. 13, also lent Biden her support, despite vehemently disagreeing with his response to the war in Gaza.

“Outside a few outliers I think everybody’s supporting the president,” Omar said this week. “He’s been the best president of my lifetime, and we have his back.”

Omar has been one of the most widely targeted progressives and has rankled even some within her own party, as her regular criticism of Israel and calls for a cease-fire have been in contrast with Biden’s foreign policy.

The lack of left-wing dissent has come from the top of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, where Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said she is “listening carefully to the thoughts of our members from all over the country in swing and safe states and districts.”

Jayapal, who has been more sympathetic to Biden and speaks regularly with advisers in his inner circle, also acknowledged that “Democrats are having many conversations among our members.”

Some Democrats interpreted that to leave room for a possible change of posture as the party continues to struggle to put forward a united front around the nominee just weeks before the August Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

Others say that the apparent coalescing around Biden, albeit muted, shows that progressives can support an incumbent with whom they have regularly pushed to go further left on domestic election issues like health care.  

“You really want to call the president out and ask him to step down when you can’t protect your own and then trigger a youth movement due to irrational fears and stoke the flames of protest more with four months from when a dictator can become president?” said Michael Ceraso, a Democratic strategist who has worked for Sanders’s and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s presidential campaigns. 

“They would be blamed,” he said. 

With the clock ticking toward Election Day, many in the progressive movement are also planning around the possibility that they could take the heat if Biden falls short against Trump, despite his multiple felonies, former impeachments and other political vulnerabilities that make him a polarizing choice.

“The left and everyone associated with it is terrified of being blamed for Biden losing to Trump,” the progressive close to Ocasio-Cortez said.

Biden, meanwhile, has essentially put his hands over his ears to block out the noise. He has been adamant that he plans to go forward with his White House campaign, a decision he insisted is motivated by keeping Trump out of the Oval Office for the second time. 

His firmness has caused many Democrats to walk on eggshells amid growing fears that his debate performance gave a glimpse into potential age-related problems with speech and recall. 

A postdebate poll conducted by ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos showed that 2 in 3 voters surveyed said they believe Biden should drop out of the presidential race.

Biden’s brain trust has been on damage control to get him in a better position, most recently agreeing to an interview with George Stephanopoulos. While some political observers said the sit-down went better than the debate, many expressed concerns — including Stephanopoulos himself — that Biden may not be capable of serving out another full four-year term. 

While Biden continues to double down, centrist Democrats, from Obama veterans to at-risk House members up for reelection, are urging him to halt his campaign. A dozen Democrats in Congress have so far made that case, while progressives have been aligned with Biden’s own decision to stay in the race. 

Some progressives are also considering their own competitive elections and navigating the question carefully. Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.), who is considered one of the most vulnerable Democrats this cycle, has not answered the question directly about whether she thinks Biden should keep running for reelection. 

Campaign operatives who have seen progressives get lashed out over election losses, dating back to Sanders’s 2016 primary challenge against Hillary Clinton, are watching cautiously for any cracks in the coalition. 

“If they want to come out and ask for a president with the most progressive record to date to step down because they want to describe him as senile, then do it,” Ceraso said.

“But don’t whine when Dems hate you and the institution blocks you out,” he said.