NYT
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/11/us/p ... trump.htmlWhile some of Mr. Biden’s top aides have quietly argued that Ms. Harris could not win the election, donors and other outside supporters of the vice president believe she might be in a stronger position after the debate, and could be a more energetic communicator of the party’s message.
In a memo to campaign staff on Thursday, Mr. Biden’s campaign chair, Jennifer O’Malley Dillon, and his campaign manager, Julie Chavez Rodriguez, wrote about the “path ahead.”
“In addition to what we believe is a clear pathway ahead for us, there is also no indication that anyone else would outperform the president vs. Trump,” they wrote. “Hypothetical polling of alternative nominees will always be unreliable, and surveys do not take into account the negative media environment that any Democratic nominee will encounter. The only Democratic candidate for whom this is already baked in is President Biden.”
The memo also appeared to acknowledge an erosion of Mr. Biden’s support.
“The movement we have seen, while real, is not a sea-change in the state of the race,” the memo says.
As the White House and the Biden campaign try to project a unified front, some of their supporters are engaged in a tough assessment of who should top the ticket.
Much of the attention is on Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the majority leader, who has said publicly that he is “with Joe” but who has signaled privately, Axios reported on Wednesday, that he is open to a ticket not led by Mr. Biden. In a statement provided after that article published, Mr. Schumer said, “As I have made clear repeatedly publicly and privately, I
support President Biden and remain committed to ensuring Donald Trump is defeated in November.”
One person who spoke directly with Mr. Schumer last weekend, who discussed the conversation on the condition of anonymity to protect the relationship, said that the majority leader was looking for a way to find a different candidate while being mindful of Mr. Biden.
But any progress in moving past the debate was undone early on Wednesday when former Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Mr. Biden still had a decision to make about whether or not he was running — nearly a week after he told Democratic governors and the ABC anchor George Stephanopoulos that he was staying in the race.