President Biden back on the campaign trail amid calls from Dems for him to step down
With 120 days until the election, President Joe Biden was back on the campaign trail on Sunday, meeting with lawmakers and constituents in the swing state of Pennsylvania. But as the President continues to campaign, calls from fellow Democrats for him to step aside continue to grow.
"Given what we've seen – in that debate with Trump, and since then – it's looking more and more likely to me that we may have a change at the top of the Democratic ticket," said Melinda Jackson, a professor of Political Science at San Jose State University.
But plenty of Democrats still publicly stand by Biden. Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman joined Biden at a campaign stop on Sunday.
California Governor Gavin Newsom campaigned for Biden in Bucks County, PA, and Vice President Kamala Harris continued to support the president while speaking at the Essence Festival of Culture in New Orleans, Louisiana.
"They're supporting the president, and that will be the case right up until the point he steps down, if indeed that happens," Jackson said. "That doesn't surprise me. I'm sure that conversations are happening in private that may be a little bit different than what people are saying in public right now."
If Biden agrees to bowing out and the party were to replace him, Jackson has some advice.
"If I were giving advice to the Democrats at this point, I'd say they really need to be a little bit ruthless and think about who is going to have the best chance to win against Trump," Jackson said. "Not who deserves the nomination the most or who has been most loyal to the party, whose turn it is."
Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump has largely remained out of the spotlight since the debate.
"I think Republicans are being smart to just let the chaos play out on the Democratic side. They're probably having a lot of hypotheticals behind the scenes," Jackson said. "I'm sure they're doing polling, I'm sure they're thinking about how the campaign would have to adjust if there is a different candidate at the top of the Democratic ticket."
Jackson thinks a decision will be made sooner than later.
"From observing many election cycles over the years, I feel like the writing is on the wall, I feel like the momentum is building and we are more likely to see Biden step down than not," she said. "I feel like we're going to see this decision in the next few days."
