How Manchin decided not to ditch Biden: 'Nobody wants to be the first one to knife Julius

Although US Senator Joe Manchin (I-West Virginia) hasn't yet endorsed Joe Biden, the former moderate Democratic lawmaker has stood behind the president politically.

However, following Biden's poor debate performance last week, the Independent senator notified a group of allies that "he would soon break with" the president, which would make him "the first prominent elected official allied with the party to call for Biden to exit the presidential race," according to The Washington Post.

Per the Post, "Senior Democrats heard of Manchin’s plans and started making calls to the independent-minded senator," and "the 'full-court press' was quickly assembled to help dissuade Manchin from appearing on the show, according to two people familiar" with the matter.

READ MORE: ‘This was awful’: Congressional Dems deflated after Biden debate disaster

The newspaper reports:

That even Manchin — a perpetual thorn in Democrats’ side who spent months flirting with an independent presidential run that Democrats feared could boost Trump — has not broken with the president speaks to the tight lid that’s been kept on calls to oust Biden. Unlike his Democratic colleagues, Manchin has not endorsed Biden.

That dam may soon break, however, if polls show a steep decline in Biden’s standing or he does not ramp up his public appearances to show that he can do the job. Democrats in the House, which Republican control, now consider their chances of regaining the majority in November as the only firewall to a possible Trump administration, but also worry that Biden will drag down their chances to flip the chamber if he remains atop the ticket. And Democratic senators running in a gantlet of red and purple states must all hold onto their seats to keep that chamber in Democratic hands.

The senator, according to the Post, "reached out to former president Bill Clinton to talk, but those two never connected, according to a source familiar with the effort. Clinton posted a message of support for Biden on social media after the debate."

The Post also notes:

Manchin’s reversal illustrates Democrats’ rapid tamping down of internal dissent over the 81-year-old Biden remaining their presumptive nominee as the campaign and party leaders argue that only the president and his family can decide his political future. Urging drastic action before examining post-debate polling is unwise, party leaders have argued, and Democrats are aware that being the first prominent Democratic official to do so could come with a political cost.

One Democratic official told the newspaper, "Nobody wants to be the first one to knife Julius Caesar."

The Washington Post's full report is available here (subscription required).