Joe Biden Gets a Deadline From Democratic Senator: ‘Clock is Ticking’

Senator Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, warned on Sunday that the “clock is ticking” for President Joe Biden to address voters’ concerns, emphasizing that next week is “critical” for his campaign after his poor performance in last month’s presidential debate.

In an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union, Murphy told co-host Dana Bash, who co-moderated the first 2024 presidential debate between Biden and former President Donald Trump, “There’s no doubt that the president’s performance at the debate has raised questions for voters…questions as to whether this is still the old Joe Biden.”

Biden’s debate performance has been widely criticized, with many Democratic voters, politicians, and commentators citing his stumbling and at times incoherent and hard-to-hear responses as worrisome. Questions about Biden’s mental sharpness and age have flared up again after the 81-year-old’s performance. A Biden aide, meanwhile, previously told Newsweek that the president was battling a cold during the debate.

Five sitting Democratic U.S. House representatives—Angie Craig, Mike Quigley, Seth Moulton, Raúl Grijalva, and Lloyd Doggett—have called for Biden to step down as the party’s presidential nominee following his performance. Biden, however, has repeatedly emphasized that he’s staying in the race.

In his over 10-minute CNN appearance on Saturday, Murphy, who is a close ally of Biden, praised the president’s legislative feats in the Oval Office, saying, “This is one of the most effective presidents I’ve ever served under.”

The senator also emphasized his support for the president and his character.

“Personally, I love Joe Biden. I don’t know that the interview on Friday night did enough to answer those questions, so I think this week is going to be absolutely critical. I think the president needs to do more,” Murphy said, referencing the interview Biden did with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos.

When asked by Bash if Biden should remain on the Democratic ticket, Murphy didn’t concretely affirmatively or negatively answer the question and said, “I take the president at his word. He said that he believes that he is up to do this job…I believe that he can do it. But I think that this is a really critical week, I do think that the clock is ticking.”

Murphy recommended that the president spend the week making informal, impromptu, and unscripted appearances like town halls to convince voters that “he can still lead this country.”

However, the senator noted that “there’s a lot of anxiety in the country and the party today and that’s because the stakes are so high because Donald Trump presents an existential threat to democracy.”

Newsweek reached out to Trump’s campaign spokesperson for comment via email on Sunday.

Asked if he believes Biden could beat Trump, Murphy said, “Absolutely,” adding that it’s possible if the president addresses voters’ concerns.

Newsweek also reached out to Murphy’s press team and Biden’s campaign team for comment via email on Sunday.

The national poll aggregator FiveThirtyEight shows Trump ahead of Biden by 2.3 points (42.1 percent to 39.9 percent) as of Sunday morning. The election has been extremely tight, with predictions often flipping on who will be reelected. Just days before last month’s debate, Biden was leading the former president by a narrow margin.