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Since his disastrous debate last month, President Biden has embraced a laundry list of left-wing policy proposals, strong-armed the party's nomination process and still tried to limit spontaneous, unscripted moments.
Why it matters: Biden's moves have kept top Democrats from stampeding away from him — even as many remain privately uneasy with the 81-year-old president staying at the top of the ticket and serving another term.
Since his disastrous debate last month, President Biden has embraced a laundry list of left-wing policy proposals, strong-armed the party's nomination process and still tried to limit spontaneous, unscripted moments.
- It's saved his candidacy — for now.
Why it matters: Biden's moves have kept top Democrats from stampeding away from him — even as many remain privately uneasy with the 81-year-old president staying at the top of the ticket and serving another term.
- Amid worries he could lose and drag down Democratic House and Senate candidates with him, just 20 Democrats in Congress have called on him to step aside.
- Biden said this past week that if he's re-elected, he'd call for legislation to cap landlords' ability to hike rent prices, push for a large-scale elimination of medical debt, and pursue other plans that have been applauded by progressives such as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
- The sooner Biden is technically the nominee, the sooner he and the party can quash Democratic rebels' push to replace him on the ticket.
- Biden's few unscripted moments in front of cameras since the June 27 debate haven't inspired wide confidence, but have been good enough to prevent many more defections.
- In a phone chat with MSNBC's "Morning Joe," Biden could be heard shuffling papers and acknowledged at one point that he was reading from "a list of lies."
- In his first interviews after the debate — radio calls with Black radio stations in Philadelphia and Milwaukee — his team later acknowledged it had drafted and pre-submitted the questions to the hosts.
- Mayors and members of Congress could not unmute themselves in recent Zoom calls, as the White House controlled who was able to speak. The White House said that was standard procedure for such group calls.
- Biden's team said it was indeed controlling the call, but did not ask for nor receive questions in advance.
- Bates added: "He has spoken off the cuff to world leaders — who highlighted the leadership he showed at NATO — as well as to members of Congress, the AFL-CIO, and to American veterans."
- After the Congressional Progressive Caucus had a call with Biden, Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) told Axios the president teased many policies the caucus wants — which he said is "not a complete coincidence," based on where Biden is now drawing support on Capitol Hill.
- "This is his base," Sherman said of the Progressive Caucus, "You see who has called upon him to move on, and who has called upon him to stay, and the Progressive Caucus lines up with those who have asked him to stay."
- Sanders wrote: "Enough! Mr. Biden may not be the ideal candidate, but he will be the candidate and should be the candidate."
- That's given Biden a lifeline with lawmakers representing two of the most important parts of the Democratic Party's base.
- But the Biden team's moves have been sufficient to keep many Democrats from speaking out publicly.