The fissures over Biden’s health since last week’s debate in Atlanta come amid polls by CBS News that show an increasing number of voters don’t see Biden as physically or mentally fit for the presidency. The unrest over his flailing performance has set off a larger crisis.

“The first thing we all need to do right now is calm down,” said Democratic strategist Tharon Johnson, a veteran of several White House campaigns. “I’ve been working in Democratic politics for more than 20 years now, and I’ve never seen our party in such a panic.”

Some are responding with candid soul-searching. Kenneth Gilkes, a Biden supporter from Snellville, had tongue-in-cheek advice for antsy Democrats after the debate: “Relax and be like a Trumpster” and fall in line.

Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com

Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com

Biden’s hopes of recapturing Georgia hinge on Black voters such as Gilkes who Democrats need to show up in droves in November if the president has any chance of keeping the state in his column.

And Black leaders in Georgia form the core of his salvation plan. Warnock, in particular, has emerged as one of the president’s most important allies after keeping Biden at arm’s length through much of his 2022 reelection bid.

Warnock has repeatedly squelched rumors about serving as a last-ditch stand-in for the president by saying Biden should “absolutely not” step aside. Nor would he entertain speculation that Vice President Kamala Harris should lead the ticket.

“I have great respect for Vice President Harris, whom I spent a great deal of time with,” Warnock told NBC’s “Meet the Press” over the weekend. “But Joe Biden is the nominee, and I’m going to do everything I can to make sure we elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris come November.”

‘Scared’

Warnock and other Democrats who have rallied around Biden are following a blueprint that’s emerged since the president’s disastrous performance against Trump in Thursday’s CNN debate. They are circling the wagons to settle the nerves of donors, officials and voters left concerned that Biden’s poor performance during the 90-minute showdown — filled with mangled answers and a shaky voice — would doom his campaign.

“We do a great disservice to ourselves as Democrats to say at this point, ‘Step aside, let somebody else run,’ ” U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath said during a gathering over the weekend at Ebenezer Baptist Church.

Credit: NYT

Credit: NYT

In some ways, the calls for Democratic unity mirror the closing of ranks around Trump, who has also faced plenty of internal turmoil during his decade in the top tier of national politics. The anti-Trump wing of the GOP has faded, leaving his MAGA forces in near-total control of the party apparatus.

Democrats want to shift the focus back to Trump, saying Biden’s admittedly poor debate shouldn’t overshadow a track record in the White House that achieved many liberal priorities.

They hope the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on Monday that Trump has significant immunity against prosecution on charges of trying to reverse the 2020 election refocuses the stakes of the race.

Credit: TNS

Credit: TNS

Quentin Fulks, Biden’s Georgia-born deputy campaign manager, said the ramifications of the ruling scare him.

“And I think Americans are scared — and should be scared — of what Donald Trump will do, because he has been telling us for months,” he said. “And so I can reassure you that when you do see President Biden out on the trail, he will be talking about the reasons why Americans should be scared of Donald Trump.”

‘Bedwetting brigade’

Even as they project unity, Democrats are taking new steps to limit internal dissent.

State party officials sent an email to elected Democratic officials on Monday stocked with pro-Biden talking points along with a note urging them to think twice before speaking to the media.

“While reporters are typically friendly — they talk to people for a living — they should not be considered friends and they can’t write something you don’t say,” the memo states.

And the campaign has vilified pundits and others who have raised alarms about Biden, panning “self-important podcasters” and the “bedwetting brigade” as chaos agents who would hand the election to Trump.

The approach has so far worked. While some senior Georgia Democrats have vented their fears about Biden’s candidacy in text groups and quiet conversations, none have publicly denounced him, worried that airing concerns amounts to a betrayal.

Several said privately that in a state as competitive as Georgia, where fewer than 12,000 votes divided Biden and Trump in 2020, breaking ranks could discourage some of the party’s most loyal supporters from voting. U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, the state party’s chair, pointed to Biden’s more robust appearances since the debate.

“My president didn’t do a great job. We all saw that with our own eyes,” she told the “Politically Georgia” podcast. “But what he has done is a damn good job as president over the last 3½ years.”

‘I believe’

Still, a small number of more junior current and former Democratic officials are speaking out.

State Rep. Ruwa Romman, a Palestinian American legislator, said Biden’s support for Israel’s war with Hamas has left many young voters “incredibly disillusioned” and that it was “insulting to pretend this isn’t a big deal.”

“My only hope is that down-ballot races like mine can turn around the current trend of incredibly low turnout since it’s clear many would rather dig in their heels than do the hard work of course correcting,” the Gwinnett County Democrat said.

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

And former U.S. Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux, who represented a suburban Atlanta district for one term before being ousted by McBath, said the debate proved Biden doesn’t have “the mental or physical stamina” to serve another four years.

“It’s no one’s fault, and it’s not fair. But life isn’t fair,” the moderate Democrat wrote in an op-ed piece. “And the best path forward is an intentional and organized process to select another Democratic nominee to beat Trump.”

Biden, of course, is showing no signs of abandoning the race. His family and inner circle have urged him to fight on, as have most of the party’s elite. Johnson, the strategist who was a key deputy in Barack Obama’s campaigns, said he expects party loyalists to do the same.

If Biden’s “biggest weakness” is his age, Johnson said, then voters should take a hard look at Trump vulnerabilities, including a May felony conviction on hush money charges that cemented the Republican as a “convicted felon, liar and con man.”

“Biden has served this country faithfully for his entire life while Trump has only served himself,” Johnson added. “If Biden believes he can win this race and serve another four years, then I believe it, too.”

Staff writer Ernie Suggs contributed to this article.

Credit: Alyssa Pointer/AJC

Credit: Alyssa Pointer/AJC

MORE DETAILS

U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas has become the first national Democratic party figure to publicly call for Biden to step down as the party’s nominee for president, citing the president’s debate performance as failing to “effectively defend his many accomplishments,” The 15-term congressman said in a statement Tuesday that Biden should “make the painful and difficult decision to withdraw.”