The Historical Echo Biden Tried to Suppress

More Democrats voiced doubts about President Biden’s candidacy on Tuesday, the most public and direct expression of concern since his disastrous performance at Thursday’s debate.

Only one lawmaker called on the president to withdraw from the race, but that person, Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas, cited a historical comparison that is particularly telling.

“I represent the heart of a congressional district that was once represented by Lyndon Johnson,” Doggett said. “Under very different circumstances, he made the painful decision to withdraw,” he added, calling on Biden to follow Johnson’s lead in 1968.

“Recognizing that, unlike Trump, President Biden’s first commitment has always been to our country, not himself, I hope he will make the painful and difficult decision to withdraw,” Doggett said.

At happier times in his career, Biden has himself invoked Johnson, albeit in a more positive vein. In 2017, at a point between his vice presidency and his presidency, spoke at the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library in Austin, Texasin which he said that President Johnson’s civil rights efforts had inspired him to enter politics decades earlier.

In 2021, less than two months after taking office, Biden brought up Johnson when he spoke about his American rescue plan and his efforts to move the nation away from trickle-down economics. “This is the first time we’ve been able to, since the Johnson administration and maybe even before, change the paradigm,” Biden said.

President Biden’s supporters have spent much of this year rejecting comparisons to 1968. That year, after Johnson announced he would not accept his party’s nomination for president, his vice president, Hubert Humphrey, emerged victorious at a Democratic National Convention in Chicago that was rocked by riots and police brutality.

Biden allies have said that this year’s college protests over the Gaza war had nothing to do with the protests that rocked college campuses in 1968. Democratic officials have downplayed the likelihood that protests at this year’s convention, also scheduled for Chicago, could be as large as those in 1968. And, of course, they have dismissed the possibility of a convention without a nominee.

But Tuesday’s events made clear that more needs to be done to undo the comparisons.

Other comments from Democratic Party leaders indicate that the Biden team’s attempts to calm panic within their party have not worked.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the former speaker of the House of Representatives, said it was a “legitimate question” to ask whether Biden’s disastrous performance was an “episode” or a “condition” — though she added that the same question could be asked about Trump’s performance, which was riddled with lies.

And Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina, a longtime Biden ally, said he would support Vice President Kamala Harris if Biden stepped aside. He said he wanted the ticket to “remain Biden-Harris,” but it was notable that such a close ally would even acknowledge the possibility that someone other than the president could lead the ticket.

The White House is considering holding a rally Wednesday to reassure Democratic governors, my colleagues reported, and the campaign announced plans to hold an event Friday in the state it’s focused on, Wisconsin. Biden is also planning a rare interview that day with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos.

At a time of extraordinary uncertainty — and with more people who have spoken to the president saying he is making more mistakes — it’s not yet clear whether this will be enough to calm Democrats’ concerns.

Why Gavin Newsom Can’t Lose

There is one group of Democrats who have not publicly expressed doubts about Biden’s candidacy. And that group happens to be made up of some of the people who could best replace him in the unlikely event that he were to drop out of the presidential race.

That is the group of Democratic governors seen by the party — and perhaps by themselves — as having the best chance of winning the White House in 2028.

In recent days, California Governor Gavin Newsom, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, all seen as rising Democratic stars, appear to have been trying to prove who among them is most loyal to Biden. They’ve taken to the airwaves to defend him and, in some cases, have gone on the campaign trail, often doing a better job of polishing and celebrating Biden’s record than he has been able to.

Curious about the delicate dance these governors are doing with Biden, I called Shawn Hubler, a Sacramento-based reporter for The New York Times, looking for some kind of case study on the governor who is perhaps the best-known of the bunch. Shawn has followed Newsom on and off since 2003, when he was mayor of San Francisco, and she explained to me why, barring a major shift in the political landscape, Newsom is unlikely to heed the appeals of Democrats who dream of him taking over the ticket. Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

One of the most striking Pictures After the debate, there was a photo of Newsom in the spin room, with dozens of reporters surrounding him. What have you noticed about Newsom’s defense of Biden since those moments?

Long before this campaign, Newsom felt that the Democrats were really underestimating the Republicans, Trump, and the MAGA right, and he believed strongly that he needed to be a kind of focal point for the Democrats — someone who could take the fight to the right and stand up to a bully. Since the debate, I’ve been struck by his discipline and his loyalty to President Biden. I think he also doubts that the nominee is likely to change. So he sees himself as a loyal lieutenant and a fighter who has been telling people to calm down, that the race hasn’t really changed and that the Democrats need to fight harder.

He’s been the subject of loud calls — or at least wishful thinking — from some quarters of the Democratic Party to take on Trump himself by replacing Biden on the ticket. Can you imagine him doing that?

For Newsom, there’s no real path forward that feels legitimate and true to his character. Even if the president were to step down, the logical next person to run would be Kamala Harris, another Californian who’s known Newsom his entire career. They grew up together in San Francisco. And he’s not going to run against Kamala, despite the fact that they’re known as frenemies in the small world of San Francisco politics. His eye has always been on 2028, so jumping in now just doesn’t make logistical sense.

Newsom is governor, but he has also positioned himself as a national figure. How intentional was he in doing that?

He’s been a national conversation-maker for a huge state since he first ran for governor in 2018. During the Trump administration, he had a real antagonist, a real villain to turn on. He’s relentlessly pursued the Trump administration, except on issues like federal disaster relief, and he’s struck back at upstart Republican politicians who have used California as a foil to sell their own ideas. The failed Republican recall effort in 2021 also left him with a huge campaign fund that he’s used effectively to raise his profile and amplify California’s Democratic narrative nationally.

This is a cynical point, but it almost feels like Newsom, if his goal is to be elected president in 2028, another four years under the Trump administration could put him even more in the picture.

Four more years of Trump would fit perfectly with the framing that has put Newsom in the position he’s in. It would fit the brand perfectly. But I know that’s the last thing he wants, because four more years of Trump wouldn’t be good for California. Four more years of Joe Biden wouldn’t hurt him either. He’s not in a lose-lose position.

He’s in a kind of win-win situation. Is there anything that you could see at this point that would cause him to abandon that ironclad loyalty to Biden that he’s shown over the last week and over the last few months?

I don’t. Newsom grew up in San Francisco, in the Bay Area, and in Bay Area politics, and one of the first rules of politics, both there and in most cities, is you’re only as good as your word. So he understands how to keep his word. I know that sounds counterintuitive, and I think anything can happen, but I see him as a guy who doesn’t have much to lose by biding his time.