Top Malloy-era adviser says perception is the problem, Biden should consider stepping down

After a debate that left many wondering whether President Joe Biden should continue to be his party’s presidential nominee, Democratic strategist Roy Occhiogrosso said Saturday that those conversations need to happen in the president’s camp.

Occhiogrosso, who has 30 years of experience in the political sphere, said the debate between Biden and Republican candidate Donald Trump left him with strong feelings.

“If the president stays in office, he’s going to lose,” he said in a telephone interview, adding later: “Everybody has good days and bad days, but not everybody is 81.”

Occhiogrosso worked for Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s administration for two years, from 2010 to 2012, after serving in an advisory role in the governor’s election campaigns. He was a founding partner of Global Strategy Group, and worked there from 2003 until joining Malloy’s administration. He also served as a consultant to Joe Leiberman’s 2006 Senate campaign.

He said his concern — unlike others circulating online — was not about Biden’s ability to function as president. As a political operative, Occhiogrosso said his concern was whether the president would be able to win the race.

Part of that feeling, he admitted, rests on the role that narrative and perception play in politics.

“In this world, perception becomes reality. The narrative has taken hold, I fear, and it is certainly exacerbated by his debate performance,” he said, saying the narrative that emerged was “brutal.”

Occhiogrosso said that before the debate he thought Biden would win the race for the White House, but now he’s not sure. Letting him finish the race, Occhiogrosso said, is taking a big risk for the country’s future.

“It’s not less than democracy that’s at stake,” he said, before adding: “It’s not like Mitt Romney is sitting on the other side.”

The public discussion among Democrats after Thursday’s debate focused on whether Biden should continue to be the party’s nominee. New York Times The editorial board on Friday called on Biden to step down. However, The Philadelphia Inquirer The editorial board and others said Trump was the candidate who should be replaced because he was convicted of 34 felony counts by a federal jury and a litany of other reasons.

CNN, which broadcast the debate without challenging the candidates’ statements in real time, reported Friday that Trump made 30 false statements during the debate. PolitiFact also published a similar report.

So this is not a one-sided debate over which candidate should step aside, and high-ranking Democrats on social media say it’s too late for Biden to step down. Former President Barack Obama still strongly believes in the need for Biden.

Former White House official David Axelrod, now a political consultant and analyst, tweeted the following Saturday afternoon:

“Reality check: @JoeBiden is the Democratic Party nominee, nominated by voters in primaries across the country. Unless the @POTUS himself decides to resign – which he won’t – this problem is solved. The current discussion was timely a year ago, when few people wanted to have it. This is largely irrelevant today.

In Connecticut, Democratic Party Chairwoman Nancy DiNardo endorsed Biden’s candidacy.

“Joe Biden has been a great president,” DiNardo said through a spokesperson via text message. “We know what he will do in the White House and a debate won’t change that. We know what Donald Trump will do. He is a liar and a convicted criminal and he is waging a campaign of revenge. Joe Biden is the Democratic candidate.

Occhiogrosso said Biden seemed more energetic during his speech in North Carolina, less than 24 hours after his debate with Trump.

“Like most people his age, he probably has good days and bad days,” he said. “The problem is he had a really bad night in front of 50 million people.”

What voters are looking for is consistency, Occhiogrosso said, and Biden’s team must determine whether the debate performance was an anomaly, or whether it should pull the trigger on moving on to another candidate.

While saying this would perhaps put the cart before the horse, Occhiogrosso said there were “more than a handful” of candidates who could take the reins from the outgoing president. He said Vice President Kamala Harris would be best suited to take the reins of the campaign, even though she is “underappreciated” in his eyes.

“There is a narrative that has developed around her that is in many ways unfair,” he said.

Occhiogrosso also said the governors of California and key states Michigan and North Carolina — Gavin Newsom, Gretchen Whitmer and Roy Cooper — are all viable candidates, he said, because of their executive experience.

“I think there’s a huge benefit to having executive experience when you’re talking about a leadership position,” he said.

However, Occhiogrosso reiterated that until a decision is made, debating replacements serves no purpose.

“It’s like playing fantasy football,” he said.

If the president wants to remain the Democratic presidential nominee, Occhiogrosso said the best way to make up for a poor debate performance is with a strong stand-alone performance.

Even if it is likely, he said, he does not know.

“Think about it. If you’re Trump, why would you want to debate him again? “, he asked. The other solution, according to the communications expert, would be to focus on all the faults of your opponent.

“We must make the other an alternative that is totally reprehensible for more than 50% of the electorate,” Occhiogrosso said. “It’s certainly possible, given who he is and the nonsense that comes out of his mouth.”

This, however, assumes that Biden remains in the race.

“It certainly appears, immediately after this debate, that the president has no intention of stepping down, and that party leaders have no intention of asking him to step down,” he said.

Occhiogrosso said that if the Democratic Party is not willing to have difficult conversations with and about Biden leaving for another candidate, it is no better than Republicans who remain silent in the face of Trump’s criminal convictions and his numerous transgressions.

“We risk looking like hypocrites if we avoid these difficult conversations,” he said.

Asked what effect the decision to replace Biden with a different candidate would have on the American public and what impact it might have on the race, Occhiogrosso said he thought it would go over well.

“I hope people respect that,” he said.

He said a decision on whether to keep Biden in the race must be made soon.

“There’s plenty of time to change course now, at some point you run out of time. What happens if there’s a cataclysmic event after (he remains a candidate)? Then you’re doomed,” he said.

Occhiogrosso said he would have a difficult conversation with the president if he were an adviser.

“I would probably have a very serious and private conversation with him about whether it makes sense for him to remain a candidate,” he said. “He needs to have a serious, heart-to-heart conversation with his loved ones to make this decision.”

---