Dem senator calls out Biden’s 'dismissive' attitude after campaign mocks 'bedwetting brigade'

02 July 2024

President Joe Biden's widely criticized performance during his first 2024 debate with Donald Trump has been followed by heated arguments between Trump foes who want Biden to stay in the race and Trump foes who want him to drop out.

In a fundraising e-mail, Biden's deputy campaign director, Rob Flaherty, wrote, "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."

In response, Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vermont) is accusing Biden's campaign of having a "dismissive" attitude toward Democrats who, he says, have legitimate concerns about Biden's ability to defeat Trump in November.

During a July 1 interview, Welch told Semafor, "I really do criticize the campaign for a dismissive attitude towards people who are raising questions for discussion. That's just facing the reality that we're in. That's hardly — I won't repeat their term — but that's the discussion we have to have. It has to be from the top levels of the Biden campaign to precinct captains in the southside of Chicago."

The Vermont Democrat continued, "The campaign has raised the concerns themselves. So then to be dismissive of others who raise those concerns, I think it's inappropriate."

Welch argued that the U.S. Supreme Court's 6-3 ruling in Trump v. the United States on July 1 gives Democrats an "existential responsibility" to have a frank discussion about Biden.

Semafor's Joseph Zeballos-Roig explains, "On Monday, the Supreme Court ruled, in a 6-3 decision, that a president can be immune from prosecution for official acts taken in office. Welch said that ruling underscored the necessity for a candid dialogue about having Biden lead the Democratic ticket."

Welch told Semafor, "Passivity is not the response that is going to work for us. We all have to be self-conscious. We all have to be acutely aware that our obligation is to the country, even more than the party. That's the obligation we have — what's best for the country."

Semafor's full article is available at this link.

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