President Joe Biden's campaign has been working hard behind the scenes to keep the Democratic base around him, with advisers vigilantly policing any current or former officeholders who speak ill of the president or publicly suggest he should step down.
Former Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin, who served with Biden in the Senate for decades, rushed to fire off a scathing letter to friends after the debate.
“All sitting Democratic Senators should write to Mr. Biden urging them to remove their delegates, step down and allow their convention to choose new nominees. Several Governors may also need to do the same,” Harkin wrote, according to a copy of the letter obtained by CNN.
Harkin, 84, said he believes there is still time to correct course and field a new Democratic candidate who “will revitalize the party at all levels and capture the attention of the public, many of whom want an alternative to Trump.”
President Obama urges party to remain united: At a fundraiser in New York on Friday, where former President Barack Obama was raising money for House Democrats, there were whispers among the crowd about whether Obama could plead with Biden to step aside for the sake of the party. Obama didn't entertain such thoughts in his brief speech, focusing instead on the need for the party to be united, energized and focused on drawing a sharp contrast between Democratic and Republican control.
Relations between President Obama and Biden and their respective advisors have been strained for years since President Obama endorsed Hillary Clinton's 2015 presidential bid and urged his former vice president not to run. Things are “even more tense” this time around, one of Obama's longtime advisers said Saturday.
CNN's Arlette Saenz contributed to this story.
