Manchin, who in May switched his party affiliation from Democrat to independent, spoke just hours after news reports highlighted that Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) did not address the future of Biden’s candidacy during remarks at a “unity dinner” Democratic fundraiser in Raleigh, N.C., on Saturday.
“Are you ready for a great Democratic victory?” the influential former House speaker said, wrapping up remarks that omitted a Biden endorsement. “I thought so.”
While the weekend has proceeded more quietly than Friday, when a dozen Democrats called for Biden to bow out, the continued rumbles of discontent foreshadowed a showdown between the president and his own party in the coming week. Biden, who has been behind closed doors recovering from covid at his home in Rehoboth Beach, Del., said he intends to return to the campaign trail this week. But elected Democrats and donors — and even Republicans — are planning for the aftermath of his withdrawal as if it is a given.
With less than a month before the beginning of the Democratic National Convention, some Democratic leaders feel they have no choice but to begin preparing for a post-Biden presidential campaign. Lawmakers and delegates are gaming out alternative scenarios, including a “mini primary,” an open convention and a coronation of Vice President Harris.
Manchin forcefully advocated for the Democratic Party to hold an open convention to choose a presidential nominee, implicitly arguing that Harris should not be anointed as Biden’s replacement.
He expressed hesitation about Harris leading the Democratic ticket, arguing that the party has moved too far to the left, alienating more moderate voters.
“I’d have to see, basically — that’s why I want an open process,” said Manchin, in a brief interview with The Washington Post on Sunday morning. “How do you win over 51 percent — a majority, 51 percent — to be victorious in the general election. That’s what they have to worry about. You can’t stay to the hard left.”
Pelosi has told allies that she also supports a kind of condensed primary, even if Harris ultimately emerges as the party’s nominee. Some Democrats have said that allowing Harris to earn the nomination rather than receive it by default would strengthen her campaign and energize voters.
The open speculation about what might happen if Biden withdraws has become exasperating for his campaign, particularly because the president has repeatedly stated that he has no intention of leaving the race.
“It is a privilege to sit around and play games with what is going on right now,” Biden principal deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks said Sunday on MSNBC’s “The Weekend.” “Joe Biden said he’s staying in. Our campaign has said he’s staying in. I don’t know how many more times we can say it.”
The campaign also pointed to endorsements that Biden has received from other elected Democrats, some of whom appeared on television Sunday to voice their continued support for the president.
“I believe he is as good as they get,” Rep. James E. Clyburn (D-S.C.) said on CNN when asked if Biden was the best positioned to defeat Republican nominee Donald Trump in November. “Is he the only one? No, he’s not the only one. And he is among the best that we can put forward. And I stand with him until he changes his mind, if he should change his mind.”
But Clyburn also mused aloud about what Democrats might do if Biden decides to step down, saying that a “mini-primary” could take place but that if the party proceeds to an open convention, it could lead to chaos.
“If you go to the convention, have an open process in the convention, it will come out the same way it came out in 1968, 1972 and 1980,” he said, mentioning previous elections in which Democrats lost general elections after contentious party confabs.
Republicans are also preparing for what they would do if Biden were to withdraw from the race, and several have suggested that if he ends his campaign, they would call for him to resign from the presidency altogether.
“If he’s incapable of running for president, how is he capable of governing?” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Sunday on CNN. “We’re projecting weakness on the world stage.”
Speaking on ABC’s “This Week,” Johnson suggested that any changes to the Democratic ticket would be met with legal challenges. “I think they would run into some legal impediments in at least a few of these jurisdictions,” he said.
Some Republicans have also ramped up their attacks on Harris, and Trump himself added a line to his speech during a rally Saturday slamming the vice president as “crazy.”
Harris, who defended Biden on Saturday during a fundraiser and in a private call with donors, did not have any events scheduled Sunday.
The vice president has found herself in an especially awkward position as calls for Biden to exit the race have grown louder. She has not been able to take steps to prepare for a national presidential campaign should she be suddenly catapulted to the top of the ticket. She has been careful to not give any public or private indications that she is thinking about her own future beyond Biden.
Major Democratic donors are funding a preliminary vetting process for potential vice-presidential nominees should Biden exit the race. Vetters have contacted aides to top Democratic figures, including Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, according to people familiar with the effort.
Manchin floated both Beshear and Shapiro as potential options for the top of the ticket.
Beshear has effectively governed in a red state because he “doesn’t villainize; he doesn’t demean anybody; he doesn’t pick a side,” Manchin told The Post. Similarly, he said, Shapiro has found common ground with Republicans while working with a narrowly divided legislature in his state.
Biden is hoping to quash such talk by returning to the campaign trail in the coming days. His doctor said his symptoms were improving, though he continued to suffer from a loose cough and hoarseness.
The White House indicated Sunday morning that Biden would not have any public activity before Monday. The president was last seen in public Wednesday, when he traveled to his Rehoboth Beach home to isolate after testing positive for covid-19.
Biden’s campaign has scheduled at least 10 fundraising events over the last 10 days of July, including a July 29 event with comedian David Letterman and Hawaii Gov. Josh Green, according to a person familiar with the planning. The fundraising push is particularly important because new filings for June showed Republicans with a robust cash haul that helped Trump surpass Biden’s once enormous campaign cash advantage.
Biden is also preparing for a critical visit to Washington by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who plans to address a joint meeting of Congress on Wednesday. The two leaders have had a tense relationship, and Netanyahu’s handling of the war in Gaza has further soured things between them.
Some Democrats have drawn a distinction between Biden’s handling of the presidency and his ability to perform as a candidate. He has been almost universally praised for the former while facing rising doubt about the latter.
“Whether he’s the strongest candidate to win the election in November is an open question,” Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.) said in an interview Sunday on Fox News. “I also think he is fully fit to be commander in chief right now. And frankly, his track record over the last 3½ years shows that.”
Reston and Vazquez contributed from Washington. Yasmeen Abutaleb in Washington contributed to this report.
