All eyes have been on Joe Biden since his disastrous debate performance in June, and it’s anyone’s guess what could happen between now and November. Biden sent a letter to House Democrats this week, telling them in no uncertain terms that he has no intention to leave the presidential race, but his efforts to assure his party are only going so far — and a handful of top Democrats are publicly calling for him to step aside.
To dive deeper into this one-of-a-kind election cycle, Katie turned to an expert: Peter Baker, the chief White House correspondent for The New York Times. He’s spent decades covering the upper echelon of American political power, and his recent reporting is leading the conversation as the controversy around Biden continues to swirl. That includes thoughtful assessments of how Biden’s handling the media, the concerns about a Parkinson’s doctor who’s been visiting the White House, and what this moment means for Vice President Kamala Harris, to name a few.
Baker talked about all that and more with Katie in a thoughtful conversation that includes what he’s hearing from sources about what things are really like at the White House right now.
“They’re in survival mode,” Baker said. “They’re in, to some extent, defiant mode. That’s certainly the cue they’re taking from the president. I think for the first few days after the debate, he was kind of unsure what he was going to do. He was kind of in the bunker. And now he’s decided, OK, he’s gonna fight for it — and that seems to be genuinely where his head is at for the moment.”
In the video above, watch Baker discuss Biden’s mindset, why Democratic donors are so upset right now, and the controversial conversation being had on the other side of the aisle about the extremist plan called Project 2025.
