Biden campaign rips ‘bedwetting brigade’ in blast, touts poll pegging him stronger than other Dems

The Biden-Harris campaign is still doing damage control after Thursday's debate sparked a revolt from Democrats. AP

The Biden campaign ripped the “bedwetting brigade” for panicking over the president’s disastrous debate showing as it attempted to do damage control with supporters over the weekend.

In a fundraising blast to supporters, deputy campaign manager Rob Flaherty doubled down that Biden was here to stay as the presumptive Democratic nominee for president.

“The bedwetting brigade is calling for Joe Biden to ‘drop out.’ That is the best possible way for Donald Trump to win and us to lose,” Flaherty said in the email titled, “7 Things to Tell Your Friends After The Debate — And 4 Things You Can Do.”

“Joe Biden is going to be the Democratic nominee, period. End of story,” he continued. “And if he were to drop out, it would lead to weeks of chaos, internal foodfighting, and a bunch of candidates who limp into a brutal floor fight at the convention.”

Flaherty sought to allay the Dems trepidations by citing polling data showing Biden, 81, and Vice President Kamala Harris as the most formidable Democrats against former President Trump and warning about the chaos that would ensue if he did drop out.

The survey from Data for Progress Flaherty cited in the email showed Trump dispatching all of the top Democrats listed, including Biden.

President Biden acknowledged concerns about his debate performance during a rally afterwards. Getty Images

Biden and Harris each scored the strongest with 45% in the poll, followed by Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer at 44%, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro at 43%.

Literally all of the Democrats in this poll are actually doing >= than Biden despite being much less well-known, which generally tends to depress your polling. That this is the best talking point they can come up with indicates how poor their argument is. https://t.co/7mmstaTI6h

— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) June 30, 2024

Flaherty added, “And at the end of the day, we’d switch to candidates who would, according to polls, be less likely to win than Joe Biden — the only person ever to defeat Donald Trump.”

In the email, Flaherty also acknowledged that the debate was “rough.”

“Yes, the debate started rough, but voters saw what a threat Donald Trump is to the country. It was more than just lying — though he did plenty of that,” he wrote.

Election data guru Nate Silver shot down Flaherty’s rationale on X, saying, “Literally all of the Democrats in this poll are actually doing >= than Biden despite being much less well-known, which generally tends to depress your polling.

“That this is the best talking point they can come up with indicates how poor their argument is.”

During his debate on Thursday — which the Biden campaign pitched last month — Biden opened with a raspy voice, lost his train of thought and stared blankly off camera with his mouth agape repeatedly.

Concerns about Biden’s age have loomed for months and his response to questions about it typically has been “watch me.”

Vice President Kamala Harris scored evenly with President Biden against Donald Trump in the poll shared by the campaign. Both were down. AP

An estimated 51 million people did just that on Thursday — and his troubling meandering and jumbled responses prompted calls for him to drop out, including by the New York Times and the Atlantic Journal-Constitution.

Even Biden acknowledged that the debate didn’t go his way.

“I don’t walk as easy as I used to, I don’t speak as smoothly as I used to, I don’t debate as well as I used to. I would not be running again if I didn’t believe with all my heart and soul that I could do this job,” Biden said at a post-debate rally in Raliegh, North Carolina Friday.

“The stakes are too high.”

Biden is expected to be coronated as the party nominee for president in a virtual setting over the coming weeks.

At 81, he is already the oldest president in US history (though Trump would top that if he wins and serves out a second term) and he would be 86 at the end of a second term.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom called calls for President Biden to drop out not helpful. REUTERS

First lady Jill Biden, who was seen assisting him off stage after the debate, also shrugged off the concerns.

“Joe isn’t just the right person for the job. He’s the only person for the job,” she said, per a pooler.

Democrat National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison and Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez held a call with committee members Saturday seeking to ease concerns.

Later in the day, Biden-Harris campaign Jen O’Malley Dillon put out a memo claiming that Biden’s position in battleground states remains competitive.

“It’s a familiar story: Following Thursday night’s debate, the beltway class is counting Joe Biden out. The data in the battleground states, though, tells a different story,” she wrote.

Thus far, the most prominent Democrats are backing Biden, including former President Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, as well as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY).