Inside The Mounting Democratic Freakout Over Joe Biden’s Bad Debate

WASHINGTON ― So far, Reps. Lloyd Doggett (Texas) and Raúl Grijalva (Ariz.) are the only Democrats in Congress who have called on Joe Biden to drop out of the presidential race.

But several others are making it clear this week that they’re panicking about Biden’s prospects, after his terrible debate performance against Donald Trump last week.

“If President Biden and his team, if he’s staying in this race, then it’s going to be incumbent on them to show us — to show us, not tell us — to show us that he’s up for the task of beating Donald Trump,” Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.) said Wednesday on SiriusXM’s “Mornings with Zerlina.”

Asked if Democrats should go with Vice President Kamala Harris, Lee called her an “obvious choice” if Biden drops out.

HuffPost talked to more than a dozen current and former Democratic lawmakers and top aides on Wednesday to get a sense of how they’re feeling about Biden staying in the race. The consensus was that nobody is feeling very good, but nobody is sure what should happen now.

Dozens of Democratic House members were reportedly circulating a draft letter on Wednesday calling for Biden to drop out. Plenty of others are staying mum for now, waiting for Biden to make his own decision. Some are privately irritated by colleagues suggesting the party abruptly change course four months before the election.

“We need to focus on beating Trump. It is crazy to consider the massively difficult, chaotic process to replace him. That would guarantee defeat,” said one veteran House Democrat, who requested anonymity to speak freely. “Numbers haven’t changed much. We need to circle the wagons, not crash them.”

Asked why some Democratic lawmakers are publicly airing their concerns about Biden, this longtime