Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Democrat of Rhode Island, said he was surprised and “shocked” by President Biden’s fragile appearance in his debate with former President Donald J. Trump and implored Mr. Biden and his campaign to be candid about his current condition.
In an interview with WPRIa television station in Providence, Mr. Whitehouse, who In March, Mr. Biden defended it as “the only option we have” to defeat Mr Trump in the election, expressed concern and said he had “never seen Mr Biden in this condition before”.
“Like a lot of people, I was pretty shocked,” Whitehouse said Monday, adding that he wanted “the president and his team to be candid about his condition, that this was a real anomaly and not just the way he is today.”
Mr. Whitehouse was joined in his concerns by Representative Debbie Dingell, a Michigan Democrat in a deep-blue district that includes Ann Arbor. Dingell criticized the Biden campaign for reports that its leaders would “stick to their strategy” and consider holding some kind of interview or news conference to assuage concerns about the president.
“One interview is not going to solve this,” Ms. Dingell said in an interview on CNN, adding: “I think the campaign needs to listen to people. And by the way, I think the campaign needs to listen to us.”
She continued: “I know how to win campaigns. My strategy is to listen and know what people are saying.”
Biden’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
It was the latest in a wave of reactions among Democrats worried about Mr. Biden and his re-election campaign. The campaign and Biden allies have tried to calm the panic that has gripped the party and its wealthy donors after the debate. Top Democratic lawmakers fanned out Sunday to defend the president and reassure his supporters.
But comments by Ms Dingell and Mr Whitehouse on Monday showed there will still be questions about Mr Biden’s fitness for another four years in office, ahead of the Democratic nominating convention in August.
