Biden Blames Elites, but Voters May Be His Bigger Problem

Even if President Biden can stem high-level Democratic defections, many Americans will still have grave concerns about his age and abilities.

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President Biden must assure Americans that he is up to serving until he is 86, and quell fears among Democrats that his candidacy will give Republicans total control of Washington.

As President Biden confronts a simmering threat to his candidacy from within his own party, he is dismissing what he casts as a familiar set of doubters: the editorial boards. The “millionaires.” The Democratic chattering class that, in his view, has long underestimated him.

Left unmentioned are the people who have been the loudest and most consistent in voicing concerns about Mr. Biden’s age and abilities: the voters.

Since the beginning of Mr. Biden’s last run for president five years ago, Democratic voters have aired concerns about his verbal stumbles, dated references and uneven, halting speaking style. Those anxieties have only deepened throughout his presidency — two years ago, a strong majority of Democratic voters said they wanted a new standard-bearer — even as many leading Democratic officials put aside their own private reservations to support his re-election.

Now, some lawmakers are publicly breaking with the president after his disastrous debate performance last month. But even if Mr. Biden, 81, succeeds in stemming high-level defections, interviews across the country made clear that the concerns among the Americans he needs to win re-election are real, grave and growing.

ImageOn Wednesday, Senator Peter Welch of Vermont became the first Democratic senator to call for Mr. Biden to step aside.Credit…Eric Lee/The New York Times

“You want to be on Team Joe, but you also see what other people saw at the debate,” said Judy Dixon, a township supervisor of Doylestown, Pa., who is also a leader of the local Democratic Party there. She was comfortable with Mr. Biden before the debate, she said, and will support him if he is the nominee — but she is currently part of an effort petitioning for a new Democratic candidate.

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