Top House Democrat and fierce former President Trump critic Rep. Adam Schiff has privately told Democrat donors that he thinks that his party could suffer substantial losses in November if President Biden remains at the top of the ticket, according to a report from The New York Times.
Schiff, the former chair of the House Intelligence Committee who is now running for a Senate seat in California, reportedly made the comment Saturday at a fundraiser in East Hampton, New York, just hours before the assassination attempt against former President Trump.
“I think if he is our nominee, I think we lose,” the newspaper quoted Schiff as saying, citing a person with access to a transcription of a recording of the fundraiser. “And we may very, very well lose the Senate and lose our chance to take back the House.”
Schiff, when asked by Fox News about the report, declined to comment.
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The New York Times also reported, citing two people with direct knowledge of Schiff’s remarks, that Schiff said Biden and his campaign staff have been generally unwilling to listen to the views of outside pollsters and political experts and that they should do so.
One donor who attended the event told the newspaper that he left feeling dejected and that donors should now focus on supporting downballot candidates under the belief that Biden’s chances of winning are slim.
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Biden has faced pressure to drop out of the presidential race following his widely panned June 27 debate performance, but those calls have subsided after Trump was shot this past weekend.
Earlier this month, Schiff admitted publicly to having doubts that Biden could beat Trump in a head-to-head race.
Schiff told NBC News that Biden’s age is the major factor weighing down the presidential race and that he should really consider whether running is the best choice.
“But the performance on the debate stage I think rightfully raised questions among the American people about whether the president has the vigor to defeat Donald Trump,” Schiff said at the time.
Fox News’ Julia Johnson and Gabriel Hays contributed to this report.
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