Hey, everyone, and welcome to the show. You know
how we always dive into these pivotal political
moments? Right into the thick of it. Yeah. Well,
this time, imagine like you're in the room with
some of the most powerful people in the Democratic
Party, right? Seasoned strategists, those who've
seen it all. The inner circle. Exactly. And suddenly
they're faced with this chilling possibility.
It was like, what if their chosen leader just
isn't viable anymore? It's that feeling, that
raw uncertainty that we're exploring in this
deep dive. We'll be looking closely at the events
right after a certain debate and using Jonathan
Allen's book, Fight, Battle for the White House,
to really understand the shockwaves that rippled
through the party. It's like being a fly on the
wall, witnessing these raw, unfiltered reactions
as the ground shifts beneath their feet. Precisely.
It's about understanding not just the political
maneuvering, but also the human drama that unfolds
in these high stakes situations. Absolutely.
And for me, what really stood out was this sense
of vulnerability that you just don't often see
from these figures. Like they're usually so polished,
you know. But here they're grappling with these
huge doubts, these anxieties about the future.
You see the intricate web of loyalties and self
-preservation within the party. It's fascinating.
Yeah. And while I found those aspects super insightful,
I have to admit the looming sense of crisis,
all those unanswered questions hanging in the
air, it was a bit unsettling. It definitely makes.
you think? Overall, for this really intense look
behind the scenes, we're giving Fight, Battle
for the White House, four out of five stars.
A solid read. So let's jump right in. The book
kind of throws us headfirst into the aftermath
of, well, that debate. What were the initial
reactions within the Democratic Party? Like,
what was the vibe? Well, to put it bluntly, it
was pure panic. Almost everyone was in a state
of shock and disbelief. Take Senator Chris Coons
from Delaware. You know, a close confidant of
Biden's. Yeah, I remember it. Right. So he's
at a campaign watch party and his phone practically
explodes with messages from other senators, colleagues,
you name it. They're not even full sentences,
just stark assessments like disaster. Terrible.
Well, no sugarcoating there. None whatsoever.
And then it's followed by these desperate questions
like what the hell is going on? They're looking
to him, someone close to Biden, for answers,
for reassurance, anything. So it was more than
just people being polite. They were genuinely
worried. Oh, absolutely. This was a visceral
reaction, a real sense of crisis in the making.
It sounds like the party was immediately thrown
into disarray. And this wasn't just behind closed
doors, right? There were some pretty public reactions,
too, weren't there? Oh, yeah. Some very prominent
figures didn't hold back. Congressman Jim Clyburn
from South Carolina, for example, a really influential
voice within the Democratic Party, especially
in South Carolina. His endorsements are highly
sought after. Well, he watched the debate and
his immediate assessment, which he shared with
close friends and top Biden advisers, was that
Biden's performance was disqualifying. And he
didn't just say it once. He repeated it several
times. Disqualifying. That's pretty strong. It
is. Then you have former Congressman Tim Ryan,
who didn't even wait for the dust to settle.
Moments after the debate ended, he published
an op ed basically picturing a Democratic ticket
without Biden, suggesting that Vice President
Pamela Harris should step up. Wow, that's a bold
move, calling for such a drastic change so quickly.
Yeah, a very public and swift call for a shift
in leadership. So you've got panic at the grassroots
level and open criticism from key figures. What
about the financial side of things? How did major
donors react to this whole situation? It was
like a faucet being turned off. One longtime
Biden fundraiser described getting bombarded
with calls and texts even in the middle of the
night. Imagine that, being woken up by people
basically pleading for Biden to drop out of the
race ASAP. It was. And this wasn't just the usual
low level worry about Biden's age that had been
simmering for a while. It was like all those
concerns just exploded into this urgent push
for him to reconsider. Full blown freak out.
Pretty much across the country, big time donors
slammed on the brakes. They started canceling
events, pulling back contributions. As one Biden
aide put it, even before the debate, these fundraising
events weren't going well. But afterwards. Forget
about it. Hosts were basically saying, nope,
not doing it. They didn't want to be associated
with a sinking ship. Exactly. Even the most loyal
donors wanted to see some sign that the campaign
could recover before they'd commit any more money.
It's crazy how quickly that financial support
can disappear. It shows you how fragile political
financing is and how quickly confidence can evaporate,
especially when there are already doubts lingering
about a candidate. So the campaign's lifeblood
was drying up. What was the mood like at Biden's
headquarters in Wilmington during all this? Oh,
it was grim. You could practically feel the weight
of the situation in the air. Aides described
it as somber, almost like a funeral. They knew
they'd just witnessed a debacle, as one of them
put it. A senior advisor said something like,
we knew the coverage would be tough. An understatement
of the year. Right. It wasn't about strategizing
a comeback. It was more like a team just trying
to process what had happened. They were reportedly
even just grazing on leftovers for meals. Not
exactly the picture of a campaign brimming with
energy and optimism. Definitely not. Meanwhile,
Vice President Harris was watching the debate
from a hotel conference room in Los Angeles literally
a world away. Yeah. What was her experience like?
Well, she watched in silence. Interestingly,
for security reasons, her phone couldn't receive
text messages. Probably a blessing in disguise
at that moment. I'd say so. But, you know, she
didn't need a bunch of texts to understand what
was happening. And the book reminds us that she
had pulled off a pretty big blindsiding moment
herself against Biden during a primary debate
back in 2019. Oh, yeah, I'd forgotten about that.
So she knew firsthand how a debate performance,
good or bad, could completely change the game.
She had a unique perspective on the whole thing,
having been on both sides of that kind of...
Exactly. Now, before we delve further into the
aftermath, let's rewind a bit. The book also
talks about those discussions that happened before
the debate when Biden was deciding whether to
even run for reelection. What were some of the
key factors that led to that initial decision?
Yeah, it wasn't a simple yes from everyone, was
it? No, not at all. Some advisors, like Bruce
Reed, were all about giving Biden as much time
as possible to prepare to get into campaign mode.
But others, like Jeff Science, thought it was
more important to present a united front of support
from the staff. Different priorities. Right.
Then you had influential figures like Anita Dunn
and Ron Klain, who argued that all the legal
trouble Trump was facing was actually helping
him, keeping him in the news and kind of overshadowing
Biden. Interesting point. They thought a debate
could remind voters. why they'd voted Trump out
in the first place. Bring back those memories.
Exactly. But then there's this, let's say, more
pragmatic perspective offered by Mike Donilon.
He apparently told allies something along the
lines of, nobody walks away from this. No one
walks away from the house, the plane, the helicopter.
So there's this allure of power, the perks of
the presidency. It's hard to let go of that.
It's definitely a factor. So despite those internal
debates and reservations, they decided to go
for it. And then, well, we all know how that
debate went. What were those first frantic steps
they took to try and contain the damage? It was
full on damage control mode. Clean up in Isle
Biden, so to speak. Had to be done. Mike Donilon,
for example, he was tasked with basically rewriting
Biden's speech for a rally scheduled for the
Friday after the debate. The initial idea was
to have Biden acknowledge his perceived weaknesses
head on, you know, saying things like, I don't
walk as easily as I used to. I don't speak as
smoothly as I used to. I don't debate as well
as I used to. But I know what I do know. I know
how to tell the truth. Almost like owning it.
Right. But even some of Biden's closest advisers
felt that this approach was, well, a bit too
simplistic. Like it didn't really grasp the depth
of what people had just witnessed. It sounded
like an excuse rather than an honest reckoning.
Exactly. And meanwhile, campaign manager Jen
O'Malley Dillon, she was holding these, let's
just say, tense Zoom calls with senior staff.
Oh, I bet. And she basically admitted that she.
didn't have a clear plan, and wasn't even sure
if Biden would stay in the race until November.
That's pretty shocking for a campaign manager
to admit. It was. But her main message to the
team was, stay united, focus on getting Biden
across the finish line, essentially telling them
to put their doubts aside. Easier said than done,
I imagine. You think? This actually backfired
with some key donors. They felt like she was
dismissing their concerns, brushing them off
as disloyalty. One donor even said the meeting
just made them more pissed off. Adding fuel to
the fire. Yeah, it's like the initial response
to the debate actually made things worse, created
new cracks in the party. So not only was the
debate a disaster, but the initial attempts to
deal with it just made the situation even more
precarious. Exactly. And that feeling of uncertainty,
it wasn't just confined to the campaign. And
it spread to Capitol Hill, too. Oh, yeah. The
fallout must have been huge there. House Minority
Leader Hakeem Jeffries, for instance, who had
his eyes on becoming speaker if the Democrats
won back the House in November, he was in a tough
spot. He started leaning heavily on people like
Jim Clyburn and Nancy Pelosi, trying to gauge
the mood of the party. Trying to figure out where
everyone stood. Right. And Pelosi, while publicly
staying neutral, was privately telling friends
that she thought Biden should step down. But,
you know, she's a political pro. She understood
that pushing for this openly could cause a massive
internal rift. It could have completely backfired,
especially for Jeffries. Exactly. So her silence,
her carefully calculated neutrality probably
spoke volumes to those who knew her well. It's
fascinating how those unspoken messages can carry
so much weight in politics. The book also mentions
former President Obama's perspective. What was
his take on all of this? Well, apparently Obama
felt that Biden simply wasn't the best candidate
moving forward. And while he seemed to favor
Gretchen Whitmer, the governor of Michigan, he
also felt that an open contest for the nomination
might be the most viable way to potentially replace
Biden on the ticket. So even Obama had his doubts.
It seems so. And the book suggests that his influence
over Biden had diminished over the years, especially
after Biden felt Obama hadn't fully supported
his own presidential ambitions in the past. There
was some distance between them. Yeah. And that
may have influenced how Obama viewed the situation
and what he thought was best for the party. It's
incredible to think that even someone like Obama,
a giant in the Democratic Party, was reportedly
questioning Biden's ability to continue after
this one debate. It really highlights the magnitude
of the crisis they were facing. It does. It's
a stark reminder that even the most seemingly
unshakable political figures are vulnerable to
these moments of uncertainty and doubt. And it
makes you wonder, what would have happened if
things had gone differently? Exactly. The book
leaves us with that lingering question. a sense
of what could have been. It's a reminder that
in politics, as in life, things can change very
quickly and the most carefully laid plans can
be upended in an instant. That's the nature of
the game. Well, if this deep dive into the inner
workings of political strategy and those raw
human moments of doubt and uncertainty has captivated
you, make sure to hit that like button and subscribe
to our channel. We really appreciate you joining
us today. And don't forget, you can find the
link to Jonathan Allen's fight battle for the
White House on Amazon. It's a great read, even
if politics isn't usually your thing. We'd love
to hear your thoughts. What surprised you the
most about this whole situation? Let us know
in the comments below. We always love reading
your reactions and having these discussions with
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Spread the knowledge. Thanks for watching, everyone.
And we'll see you in the next deep dive. See
you then.