Nearly from the moment President Joe Biden walked off the Atlanta debate stage three weeks ago, Senator Peter Welch of Vermont has been trying—first gently, then much more directly—to get him to end his reelection bid. He now believes that effort is working.
“I think it’s happening,” he told me by phone this morning. More than 20 House Democrats have publicly pushed Biden to withdraw. For now, Welch is the only senator calling for him to step aside. But the party is rapidly turning against Biden.
The Democratic National Committee yesterday paused plans to nominate him early by virtual roll call, and last night, reports emerged that a trio of party leaders—Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi—each told Biden in separate private conversations that his nomination would jeopardize the Democrats’ chances to win this fall. Former President Barack Obama, perhaps Biden’s most helpful ally to this point, has reportedly told Democrats that Biden needs to reconsider his candidacy. Shortly before I spoke with Welch this morning, a House Democrat told me, on the condition of anonymity, that party leaders were encouraging members to go public with their concerns about Biden’s viability.
Biden, who was diagnosed with COVID-19 yesterday, has insisted that he won’t quit the race. But Welch thinks this could change soon. “The evidence that he’s looking for about his prospects is starting to come in and become irrefutable,” Welch said. “So he’ll have to weigh that and make the decision that he thinks is in the best interest of the country. I’m confident he will. And I think that decision is that he steps aside.”
If Biden does withdraw, Welch told me he does not want the president to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor. An open process to determine the Democratic nominee, he said, would be better. “I don’t want a coronation of anyone,” Welch said. “I don’t think that would sit well with Democrats.”
Our conversation has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Russell Berman: You are still the only senator who has called on President Biden to step aside. What needs to happen right now?
Senator Peter Welch: I think it’s happening, actually. You’re seeing more and more concern by loyal Democrats, longtime supporters of the president. You’re seeing a poll recently that only one-third of Democrats believe he should stay in the race. You’re seeing more private and public expressions of apprehension about what awaits us if we don’t change our candidate.
The trajectory of this has just gotten more intense since the debate, and day by day, I think the pressure is ramping up, because the evidence is continuing to come out that not only do we have a very significant prospect of losing the presidency, but it could do real damage to our prospects to take the House and maintain the Senate.
Berman: It sounds like at this moment you are confident the Democrats will nominate someone other than Joe Biden?
Welch: I strongly believe that’s in our best interest. This is something that I’ve always felt is true about Joe Biden: When he’s had to make difficult decisions, whether it was at some personal or political expense and challenge for him, at the end of the day, he’s always made that decision on the basis of what’s best for the country.
He is a very, very determined person, and his determination has been a reason he’s been so resilient. So I’m not surprised that he’s hanging in the way he is. He’s faced adversity in the past and overcome it, but I think that the evidence that he’s looking for about his prospects is starting to come in and become irrefutable. So he’ll have to weigh that and make the decision that he thinks is in the best interest of the country. I’m confident he will. And I think that decision is that he steps aside.
Berman: Did you hear from either close Biden aides or other senators after you made your call for him to step aside?
Welch: Well, I didn’t hear from the Biden campaign, but we gave them a heads-up. But my colleagues share my concern. Each of us has to make their own decision about how to express that, whether publicly or privately. Each of us has had to wrestle with the question of which uncertainty is less risky, the uncertainty of winning if we stick with Biden or the uncertainty of what happens if we have to get a new nominee. And of course, there’s deep affection in the Senate in particular for Joe Biden, personally and politically. But what I do know is that there’s widespread concern among all of us about his prospects and about what that’ll do to our prospects of keeping the Senate Democratic.
Berman: About 20 Democrats in the House have publicly called on Biden to step aside. As of this hour, you are still the only one to do so in the Senate, although some others have expressed their concerns. Why is it that no other senators have taken that step?
Welch: I can tell you why I did. My view was that the debate profoundly changed the dynamic of the race in ways that are very adverse to our prospects. As time has gone on, there’s more expression from Democrats [asking] Why is Biden stubbornly hanging on, given the age issue and given the poll numbers? I saw it getting worse, not better, and that’s why I acted. My colleagues saw the same thing we all saw. They all have to make their own judgments. Many of them have close personal connections to President Biden, and it causes them to want to be extraordinarily respectful to him personally and also his political accomplishments. I think people are assessing the risk. There is a risk in changing our nominee, but there’s also a risk in keeping our nominee. But what I’m getting a sense of is there’s more significant expressions, even if in private, of candid, gloomy assessments of our prospects with President Biden staying at the top of the ticket.
Berman: Let’s say he does step aside. What should happen immediately next?
Welch: An open process to allow delegates to make the decision about who the candidate will be. We’ve got good candidates. Our goal has to be to pick the candidate who is the strongest candidate to beat [former President Donald] Trump. That’s our goal, and that should be our guide. And we’ve got a number of people, in my view, that could fit that bill.
Berman: It sounds like you would not want Biden to step aside and then wholeheartedly endorse Vice President Harris. You don’t want there to be a coronation of her?
Welch: I don’t want a coronation of anyone. It’s not about a coronation of the vice president. It’s to make our candidate the strongest possible candidate. I do think that even though it’ll be a truncated process, those candidates should go through that process. We have never had a coronation. So I don’t think that would sit well with Democrats, and I think that all the folks who are mentioned are better served. Their strength in their campaign is better served if the nomination results from an open process.
Berman: Besides Harris, who would you want to see put their hat into the ring?
Welch: I’m not going to say at this point. We’ve got to get through this first. We all know who the names are. There are so many good folks out there.
Berman: If it is Harris, do you think she can beat Trump and have a better chance than Biden?
Welch: I do.
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