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BALTIMORE The most important press conference of Joe Bidens life was underway sixty critical and crucial minutes at the NATO summits close, where any mistake could stagger his presidential campaign.

Forty miles away, hundreds of Democratic activists at the annual Netroots Nation conference were relaxing at a roof deck happy hour. Catering and drinks were supplied by the Black Male Voter Project. A DJ played Kendrick Lamars Not Like Us. There were no TV screens.

This circular firing squad, its very Democratic, said Markos Moulitsas, whose Daily Kos blog birthed the 18-year-old conference. The blogs commenters were pissed off, he said: Project 2025 is finally going viral, people are finally paying attention to it, and Democrats would rather complain about Joe Biden, whos got the nomination sewn up.

Two weeks after the disastrous Atlanta debate, the president is still cleaning up the damage 18 members of Congress begging him to quit the ticket, celebrity donors fretting that hes too feeble to beat Donald Trump again, Nancy Pelosi nudging him to perhaps take the gold watch.

But there is no ideological edge to the panic, or to the fight-back. Among progressives, who were the least pro-Biden faction when he won the 2020 nomination, the mood is mixed. Some, like Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, have praised Bidens record, urging him and the party to refocus on it. Others, whod protested Bidens support for Israel in Gaza, see an opening but do not want progressives to be the face of a DNC putsch.

Polling by Our Revolution, a group founded by Sanders, found most Democrats wanted Biden to quit. But the debate over whether he should do so is taking place largely outside the movement. In Washington, the Congressional Progressive Caucus has mostly stayed in wait-and-see mode while other players look to influence Bidens decision. I am fully behind him as our nominee until hes not our nominee, chair Pramila Jayapal told reporters this week.

This is the first time that the progressives are not being blamed, California Rep. Ro Khanna said in a panel discussion. I spent, as co-chair of Bernie Sanders campaign, one year listening to James Carville on CNN say that Bernie Sanders was unelectable. Im glad now hes talking about Joe Biden being unelectable.

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Why progressives havent joined the dump Biden chorus - Semafor