Schumer keeps doubts about Biden private, won’t undermine POTUS publicly, Democrats say: report
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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. has told members of his conference in private that he has serious doubts about President Biden’s ability to win re-election, according to a report.
Schumer reportedly agrees with what many Democrats have said publicly — that the 81-year-old Biden appears too old and slow to carry the party to victory against former President Trump — but he does not believe the president’s re-election campaign is “irretrievable,” The Hill reported, citing three unnamed Senate sources.
“Schumer has told colleagues he doesn’t want to say anything publicly to question Biden’s viability as a candidate or to pressure him to abandon his campaign because he fears that would undermine the president and could hurt Democrats down ballot in the fall election,” the report said.
A spokesman for Schumer did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
The majority leader has stood by Biden in public comments since the president’s widely panned debate performance last month. But at least 17 Democratic lawmakers, numerous editorial writers and several pundits have urged Biden to abandon his 2024 campaign amid growing concern over the president’s mental acuity and ability to handle the responsibilities of campaigning and the presidency.
On Wednesday, Axios reported that Schumer signaled to Democratic donors that he is open to replacing Biden atop the 2024 ticket. The report said Schumer has been listening to donors’ ideas and suggestions that the best way for the party to move forward and debate former President Trump is removing Biden.
In a statement on Wednesday to Fox News after the Axios report, Schumer reaffirmed his commitment to Biden.
“As I have made clear repeatedly publicly and privately, I support President Biden and remain committed to ensuring Donald Trump is defeated in November,” he said.
BLUMENTHAL SAYS SOME CONCERNS ‘DEEPENED’ AFTER MEETING WITH BIDEN CAMP ADVISERS
Earlier this week, Schumer presided over a meeting at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) involving Democratic senators, senior Biden advisers Mike Donilon and Steve Ricchetti and campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon. The Biden aides fielded questions and concerns from antsy lawmakers nervous that Biden could lose the election and drag down other Democrats in key battleground states.
“I need to see more analytics and data that show a path to victory,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., told reporters after the meeting, expressing that his “concerns” about Biden remain.
“Joe Biden has to continue effectively and aggressively meeting the concerns of the American people,” he said.
Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., who became the first Democratic senator to call on Biden to exit the race on Wednesday, attended the meeting at the DSCC as well. “This was an opportunity for the campaign to come and tell us where they’re at and for senators to ask questions [and] make comments,” he said afterward.
SCHUMER SILENT AS WORRIES OVER BIDEN’S FITNESS SWELL IN SENATE
When reporters asked if he now felt differently about Biden’s candidacy after hearing from the advisers, he said, “I’m where I’m at, you know.” He said in a Washington Post op-ed on Wednesday that he didn’t believe Biden was the best Democratic candidate to beat Trump.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., called on the Biden campaign to be “stronger and clear, not only in defending their own record, but in creating an agenda for the future, especially for the needs of the working class of this country.”
Schumer’s House counterpart, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., has also kept his personal thoughts on Biden close to the chest. With the party in turmoil over what to do about the aged president, Jeffries sat back over the past two weeks and listened to a wide range of voices in the House Democratic conference in an effort to keep the party united.
On Friday, Jeffries revealed in a letter to Democratic members that he met with Biden privately on Thursday evening and “expressed the full breadth of insight, heartfelt perspectives and conclusions about the path forward that the Caucus has shared in our recent time together.”
The letter did not state whether Jeffires encouraged the president to change his mind about the 2024 campaign.
Though a handful of elected Democrats have called on Biden to withdraw from the race, the vast majority of the party has said they will support the president if he accepts the Democratic nomination.
Biden faced no serious challengers in the Democratic primary and won millions of votes from the party faithful, earning 3,896 delegates during the campaign — vastly more than the 1,968 needed to clinch the nomination. He remains the resounding choice of Democratic voters and continues to poll competitively against Trump.
Fox News Digital’s Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, Julia Johnson and Fox News’ Anne Marie Riha contributed to this report.