Democrats, under threat of losing their seats to Republicans, appear to be leaving President Biden to his own devices after what was widely seen as a “disastrous” performance in Thursday's presidential debate.
Fox News Digital asked several Democratic senators, House members and candidates facing tough races for their reaction to the debate and whether they agreed with the assessment of others in their party that Biden should drop out as a presidential candidate.
No one stepped forward to defend him.
Republicans declare Biden 'unfit for office' after his 'disastrous' debate performance
Senators Jon Tester, Jacky Rosen, Sherrod Brown, Tammy Baldwin and Bob Casey (Getty Images)
Names most notably absent from Biden’s defense were Sens. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev.; Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis.; Jon Tester, D-Mont.; Bob Casey, D-Pa.; and Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, all of whom were quick to praise the president in the recent past.
Tester, for example, previously described Biden as “absolutely 100% convinced” and said: “He's fine. He's doing a good job. I think people are making a bigger deal out of him than he really is.” Republicans have been attacking him with those very words in ads across the state.
Baldwin's campaign distanced itself from Biden after the debate, telling a media outlet on Friday, “Tammy Baldwin is running her own campaign for the people of Wisconsin.”
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“Senate Democrats have been telling Americans that Joe Biden is still smart. Jon Tester even went so far as to say that Biden is 'absolutely 100% convinced.' It's clear they were lying, and voters will remember that in November,” Mike Berg, communications director for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, told Fox News Digital.
representatives Rubén Gallego, the probable Democratic candidate for the Senate in Arizona; Colin Allred, the Democratic candidate for the Texas Senate; Elissa Slotkin, the likely Democratic Senate candidate in Michigan; and Angela Alsobrooks, the Democratic Senate candidate in Maryland, also did not defend Biden when she was asked about the debate.
Some House Democrats facing tough races, like Rep. Marcy Kaptur of Ohio, have taken a similar approach. On Friday, the National Republican Congressional Committee posted a video on social media showing Kaptur being followed at the airport by a GOP operative who asks her if Biden is “fit to be president.”
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“Joe Biden is president,” Kaptur said, declining to give a direct answer. When pressed by the agent, Kaptur simply said, “Are you fit to be president?”
Kaptur's campaign did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Democratic Rep. Emilia Sykes won a tight race in Ohio's 13th Congressional District in 2022, and Cook Political Report rates her 2024 race as a “toss-up Democratic pick.” Fox News Digital reached out to her office and did not receive a response.
In Washington state, Democrat. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Pérez faces a tough reelection campaign that the Cook Political Report classifies as a “Democratic tossup.” Her office did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
Ohio Rep. Greg Landsman, who could also face a tough reelection battle this year, admitted, however, what others didn't say.
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“Biden has had his share of struggles, but he's an honest person who cares deeply about the country, and Trump, on the other hand, is a con man and only cares about himself,” Landsman told Fox News Digital.
“I'm not sure what's going to happen next. I'm clear about my job, which is to serve the 700,000 people we represent by working to improve the lives of children and families by lowering costs, strengthening our democracy, restoring freedoms and helping to solve the big problems we face so that families don't have to worry as much as they do now.”
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