Blaze News investigates: DNC virtual meetings show campaign leaders still sticking with Biden even after disastrous debate

The June 27 debate between former President Donald Trump and current President Joe Biden seems to be the most pivotal moment so far in a presidential campaign season already fraught with drama. Despite Biden's noticeable physical and mental frailty and his rambling incoherence on the debate stage, his party's campaign leaders still view him as their nominee, as evidenced by multiple grassroots campaign events held online.

Blaze News attended several such events both before and after the debate. Though the language and tone of these events shifted slightly after Biden's debate performance, the hosts have consistently expressed confidence in the president and his prospects in the election this November.

Background of DNC virtual meetings

In all, Blaze News attended three sessions in June and attempted to attend three in July, though one event was canceled without notice. Most of these events were called Organizer Strategy Sessions and were generally hosted by the same two women.

These discussions uniformly revealed the DNC campaign leaders on the ground believe that Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will remain at the top of the Democrat ticket in the 2024 election.

We also attended one National Organizing Call and even managed to speak on the phone with one campaign associate who offered further insights into the current Democratic mood regarding Biden.

These discussions uniformly revealed that DNC campaign leaders on the ground believe that Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will remain at the top of the Democrat ticket in the 2024 election.

'Relational conversations': More details about strategy sessions

The Organizer Strategy Sessions both before and after the debate always followed the same basic formula. They typically lasted 30 to 60 minutes and had anywhere from two dozen to more than 100 attendees.

They also always began with hosts inviting participants to introduce themselves and share their favorite ice cream flavor. As one host later explained with a giggle, "We like to do that because Joe Biden loves ice cream."

In the first 10 minutes or so, the hosts reminded participants about Democrats' 2020 campaign efforts in key battleground states that ultimately ushered Biden into the White House. Hoping to duplicate that success in 2024, the hosts then stressed the importance of everyday voters initiating "relational conversations" with friends and family on behalf of Team Biden.

Left unsaid was that this general distrust almost certainly stems from media coverage that has overwhelmingly favored Democrats like Biden and Harris.

"Which call is easier to ignore?" one host asked as an image of a phone with two different callers flashed on the screen. "We have an unknown caller [on the left], and on the right, we have sweet Mom."

"Which call is easier to ignore?" she repeated.

This hypothetical, which appeared in almost every session, demonstrated that the best political outreach starts at home, just as it revealed the ineffectiveness of rapid-fire spam calls and messages, a lesson that some GOP-affiliated groups and strategists might take into consideration.

But the "which call is easier to ignore" question also alludes to another problem for both parties: visceral distrust among the electorate. "I think it was about 23% of Americans trust information from campaign staffers and just from folks like us that are just, like, pretty much calling them," one woman said.

Americans are now not only showing a healthy skepticism of political messaging, but they are also increasingly doubtful about reporting from the mainstream media, a point that the hosts likewise acknowledged. "Folks are rarely trusting media, folks are rarely trusting these news sources," the woman continued.

Left unsaid was that this general distrust almost certainly stems from media coverage that has overwhelmingly favored Democrats like Biden and Harris.

For instance, most media outlets dutifully reported in 2020 that Hunter Biden's infamous laptop was a Russian disinformation hit job meant to thwart Biden's presidential hopes. As evidence, they cited a letter from 51 intelligence officials whose wild assertions were later thoroughly debunked.

This case of apparent journalistic malpractice likely affected the outcome of the race. In a survey from the Technometrica Institute of Policy and Politics, 47% of all respondents — "including more than two-thirds (71 percent) of Democrats" — indicated that they would have voted differently in 2020 had they known the laptop was real, Politico reported.

'Here is the truth': Biden bombs in prime-time debate

Though the hosts of the DNC Organizer Strategy Sessions gave the same general presentation with the same general graphics and pitches both before and after the debate, the debate nevertheless still had a significant impact on these strategy sessions.

In the weeks leading up to June 27, the session hosts made several references to the debate, expressing excitement about its importance for the momentum in an otherwise tight race. "Watch party events [are] coming up where you will be able to host your own virtual or in-person debate watch party," one host said on June 6. "We will also host our own nationally, like, a nationwide debate watch party as well that you all are very much also invited to."

'How can you replace Biden, how do you get him to do it in a way where he feels respected as he should be respected?'

A few days later, another host similarly suggested that participants organize a debate watch party as one of several "very successful and wonderful ways" to campaign for "Biden-Harris." The other ideas she mentioned were having a political discussion at a "family reunion" or even "at church."

If any DNC officials hosting these training sessions had their doubts about Biden's physical or mental acuity, they made no mention of them. By all accounts, everyone involved in these sessions eagerly looked forward to watching Biden take on Trump in the first interparty presidential debate of 2024.

In all likelihood, they had no idea what was coming.

From the moment Biden walked onto the debate stage, he evinced weakness of mind and body. His movements were stilted, his voice raspy, and his facial expressions seemed to oscillate between anger and confusion.

Perhaps the most memorable line from the night neatly summarized Biden's apparent cognitive limitations. "I really don't know what he said at the end of that sentence," Trump quipped at one point. "I don't think he knows what he said either."

Biden's demeanor and responses from the beginning to the end of the debate were so alarming that many on the left soon devolved into what CNN Democratic operative Van Jones called "a full-scale panic" about Biden's fitness for office.

"People are passing around legal memos. PDFs are flying back and forth on WhatsApp trying to figure out what are the options, how can you replace Biden, how do you get him to do it in a way where he feels respected as he should be respected, who should Kamala Harris' vice president be," he claimed.

If such panic indeed went on behind the scenes, the DNC made no mention of it in its communications issued immediately following the debate. At 11 p.m., just moments after the debate ended, the DNC sent out an email, professing to be "proud" of Biden's performance and asking for donations to bolster his campaign.

In the days that followed, the DNC fired off similar emails soliciting donations in the cause of defeating Trump. None of them — not even the message that read in part, "Here is the truth, and you deserve to know it" — made mention of the debate or Biden's health.

Post-debate silence from DNC amid calls to 'switch to Kamala'

Nearly all post-debate media coverage focused on Biden and his apparent mental and physical decline, so Blaze News was interested to see whether DNC hosts would mention these issues during their online events or continue to avoid the issue as the DNC emails seemed to do.

In the first post-debate DNC event Blaze News was scheduled to attend, the reaction went beyond ignoring the issue to utter silence.

'We absolutely are sticking with Biden.'

Blaze News had signed up to attend an Organized Strategy Session on the evening of July 2, just five days after the debate. With pen and paper in hand, Blaze News clicked on the appropriate Zoom link, excited to hear from Democrats in the upcoming meeting.

It never took place.

Blaze News waited nearly 15 minutes, repeatedly leaving and re-entering the Zoom chat, wondering whether there had been some technological malfunction. Blaze News tried DNC Zoom links sent via email and text message, all to no avail. At 20 minutes past the scheduled start time, we decided to call it quits.

In every other instance, the DNC had been punctual about notifying Blaze News about upcoming events and then sending a follow-up text asking for feedback. We never received a message to announce that the Organizer Strategy Session on July 2 had been canceled and never received an apology or explanation afterward.

Perhaps of note, Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk reported the following day that many leftist get-out-the-vote plans had been suspended pending "the switch to Kamala," though Blaze News could not independently verify that reporting.

A Democrat-affiliated man who identified himself only as J.J. happened to call Blaze News at about the time Kirk posted that report to social media. J.J. had not heard of these DNC Organized Strategy Sessions and was unable to account for the apparently defunct meeting.

Earlier that morning, J.J. had, however, attended an "all-staff meeting" that included both Biden and Harris, he told Blaze News. During this meeting, he said, Biden and Harris pledged to remain in the race together.

"We absolutely are sticking with Biden," J.J. reiterated.

'Let's go, Joe!' National DNC campaign officials 'show out' for Biden

During his phone conversation with Blaze News, J.J. also referenced a National Organizing Call meeting held on July 2, about two hours after the defunct Organizer Strategy Session was scheduled to begin and less than a week after the debate.

Blaze News happened to have attended that meeting as well and can attest that its speakers — a campaign manager, a principal deputy campaign manager, a deputy battleground director, and "some state staff down in Georgia" — are unified in their support for Biden and his continued presidential campaign.

In fact, some of the speakers were practically giddy with enthusiasm for a man who may have showered with his adolescent daughter.

"The president continues to really step up with strong leadership, with integrity, and with honesty," averred one woman.

"We saw Georgia show up and really show out for our president, just like we knew we would," gushed another woman who described herself as the organizing manager of metro Atlanta, the city where the debate was held.

"We had volunteers excited to be on the official 'Let's Go Joe' buses. They were posting selfies for everyone to see as they made their way to greet the president everywhere he went."

The woman had even arranged to have "a cheer squad doing stunts" while she and other Democrat supporters chanted, "Let's go, Joe!" as Biden made his way around Atlanta, she said.

She then beamed from ear to ear as she shared that she actually got to touch the octogenarian president. "Shaking the president's hand was definitely top-tier," she effused.

Though perhaps more emotionally temperate, a woman identified as the campaign leader donned a so-called "Dark Brandon" T-shirt and gave a similarly hagiographic characterization of Biden. "President Biden is the perfect leader for us and has the voice of all of you," she insisted.

Even with all their praise for Biden, a few of the speakers did at least mention the debate. At some moments, they even hinted that Biden had underwhelmed.

"We didn't have our best performance," a male speaker admitted, though at another instance he was more evasive in his criticism. "The debate was one thing," he said cryptically, "but our campaign must continue."

"We wish he started a little bit better at that debate," the campaign manager added, "but at the end of the day, he got stronger and stronger."

Otherwise, the group raved about the debate watch parties they held and Biden's chances of winning in November.

"We have the right candidate," one woman assured the virtual crowd.

'A complex problem': Dems squirm as Biden digs in his heels

While all the DNC representatives in these virtual events and on the phone staunchly insisted they are still "ridin' with Biden," other Democrats and their allies in the media are less committed. In fact, many of them — including Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and Hollywood mega-donor George Clooney — have publicly asked Biden to step aside.

'I am firmly committed to staying in this race.'

Those hoping that Biden will withdraw seem to believe he stands little chance of prevailing against Trump this time around. Even far-left stalwart Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has supposedly admitted in private that Biden will likely lose in November and has tacitly permitted other House Democrats to call for a replacement for Biden if they think doing so will help their re-election efforts, Blaze News previously reported.

Thus far, Biden and his team seem intransigent. "I want you to know that despite all the speculation in the press and elsewhere, I am firmly committed to staying in this race, to running this race to the end, and to beating Trump," Biden told congressional Democrats in a letter dated July 8.

Meanwhile, Republicans, members of conservative organizations, and others of like mind are quietly enjoying a rare moment of Democrat and media disarray.

In a statement to Blaze News, Mike Howell of the Heritage Foundation likewise described this political moment as "chaos" and the left as "apoplectic." He also said that while Democrats have "a complex problem" on their hands if they want to replace Biden, he and his organization "stand ready to litigate" it if necessary.

Howell further noted that signs of the administration's eventual collapse have been obvious for some time. "The dam started to break when President Biden ordered Merrick Garland to assert executive privilege to hide the audio tapes of his criminal interview with special counsel Hur," he said.

"This corrupt move was a bridge too far and indicated something very disturbing was on the tapes. In the aftermath, several elder statesmen on the left abandoned President Biden and refused to support his outlandish legal theory. This included Reps. Nadler and Raskin as well as Senator Mark Warner. It's no coincidence to me that some of those same names are leading the charge to replace President Biden now."

Christopher Bedford, senior politics editor and D.C. correspondent for Blaze Media, believes the continued controversy surrounding Biden bodes ill for the Democratic Party's upcoming convention.

"The longer this drags on without any clear candidate, the less chance they have of a successful convention," Bedford told Blaze News.

"Joe Biden and the campaign and the Democrats are really eager to avoid chaos and infighting at the DNC."

As Bedford noted, the convention, the event at which nominees are usually formally certified, looms large for both Democrats and Republicans, so if Democrats are going to make a change at the top of their ticket, they must do so soon. Further complicating replacement plans is the fact that some states are already preparing to finalize their November election ballots, bolstering Biden's chances of remaining on the ticket.

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