Joe Biden receives a deadline from Democratic Senator: “The clock is ticking”

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

During an appearance on the CNN show State of the NationMurphy told co-moderator Dana Bash, who co-moderated the first 2024 presidential debate between Biden and former President Donald Trump, “There is no doubt that the president’s performance in the debate raised questions among voters … questions about whether this is still the old Joe Biden.”

Biden’s performance in the debate was widely criticized. Many Democratic voters, politicians and commentators described his halting and sometimes incoherent and difficult to understand answers as worrying. Questions about Biden’s mental acuity and his age have resurfaced following the 81-year-old’s performance. A Biden adviser, meanwhile, said earlier Newsweek that the President was battling a cold during the debate.

Five incumbent Democratic representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives – Angie Craig, Mike Quigley, Seth Moulton, Raúl Grijalva and Lloyd Doggett – called on Biden to withdraw as the party’s presidential candidate after his appearance. However, Biden has repeatedly stressed that he remains in the race.

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

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

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

When asked by Bash whether Biden should remain on the Democratic ticket, Murphy did not give a specific affirmative or negative answer, saying, “I take the president at his word. He said he believes he is up to the task… I believe he can do it. But I think this is a really critical week, I think the clock is ticking.”

Murphy recommended that the president spend the week making informal, impromptu and unplanned appearances, such as at town hall meetings, to convince voters that “he can still lead this country.”

However, the senator noted that “there is great fear in the country and in the party today because the stakes are so high, because Donald Trump poses an existential threat to democracy.”

Steven Cheung, spokesman for Trump’s campaign team, said Newsweek in an email on Sunday: “Chris (Murphy) has no idea what he is talking about and is suffering from a severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome that is rotting his brain.”

He added: “The only threat to democracy is the fraudulent Joe Biden and the unworldly Democrats who are interfering in this election by using the legal system against their political opponents.”

During Murphy’s CNN appearance, he was asked if he thought Biden could beat Trump. He replied, “Absolutely,” stressing that it was possible if the president addressed voters’ concerns.

Newsweek also emailed Murphy’s press team and Biden’s campaign team on Sunday for comment.

National poll aggregator FiveThirtyEight shows Trump leading Biden by 2.3 points (42.1 percent to 39.9 percent) as of Sunday morning. The election was extremely close, and predictions about who would be re-elected often flipped. Just days before last month’s debate, Biden held a narrow lead over the former president.

Updated 7/24/24 1:19 PM ET: This article has been updated to include commentary from Cheung.