THE BUZZ: SENDING A SIGNAL — As President Joe Biden tries to tamp down Democrats’ concerns about his age and ability to defeat Donald Trump, two of California’s most prominent Democrats are entertaining doubts: Reps. Adam Schiff and Nancy Pelosi. Schiff, during an interview on “Meet the Press” Sunday morning, said Biden’s disastrous debate performance has rightfully raised questions about whether he has the “vigor” to win against Trump, especially given the stakes for democracy in America. Schiff said the only reason that Biden isn’t “mopping the floor” with Trump — a convicted felon — is his age. “This is about whether this country remains a democracy, whether we veer off into some kind of pseudo dictatorship. Everything's riding on this,” Schiff told host Kristen Welker. Schiff, who’s all-but-guaranteed to be California’s next senator, is now perhaps the state’s most vocal establishment Democrats to suggest that Biden, 81, should step down. But he’s not the first Golden State party leader to frame the question in such existential terms. Pelosi, Schiff’s mentor and the former speaker of the House, said in an interview last week that concerns about Biden’s mental fitness are a “legitimate question” considering the threat Trump poses to democracy. Pelosi, who almost never criticizes fellow Democrats, was less pointed than Schiff and she said Biden has been at the top of his game in their conversations. But she used strikingly similar language about the stakes of his candidacy relative to the November election. “[Trump] is undermining our democracy, and he must be stopped,” Pelosi told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell. Pelosi and Schiff both said the presidential candidates should be willing to take a cognitive test — something that Biden has flatly ruled out. The speaker emerita even said it’s legitimate to question whether his performance was “an episode or is this a condition?” In a statement Sunday night, Pelosi spokesperson Ian Krager downplayed her questioning: “Speaker Pelosi has full confidence in President Biden and looks forward to attending his inauguration on January 20, 2025.” But Schiff and Pelosi, longtime allies who often work in tandem, rarely make a move that isn’t strategic, and isn't calculated in terms of its message to national party leaders. That’s why their comments could widely be interpreted as a signal to party establishment figures that two of California’s standard bearers are open to change. It’s telling that Schiff didn’t hide his support for Vice President Kamala Harris, if Biden does step aside: “I think she could win overwhelmingly,” he told Welker, adding there is no need to focus on that question yet. There’s now an emerging split among top California Democrats over how to respond to the Biden age question. Gov. Gavin Newsom — who campaigned for the president in Michigan, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire over the holiday weekend — has unequivocally dismised questions about Biden’s fitness. In Pittsburgh, Newsom told party activists to “worry less, do more” as he spoke at the opening of a field campaign office. Sen. Alex Padilla, who Schiff will serve with if he is elected, was also unequivocal during an interview on NBC’s “The Weekend,” though he said that Biden needs to do more spontaneous events to secure voters’ confidence. “Let's get Joe out there at public events, at homes, being a little bit more unscripted,” Padilla said. Padilla mentioned that he spoke to Biden over the weekend — a rarity as many Democrats say they haven’t heard directly from the White House or Biden in the debate aftermath. But there are rumblings on Capitol Hill that more Democrats could speak out with concerns this week. On Sunday afternoon, California Rep. Mark Takano, another close Pelosi ally, was one of four members who called for Biden to step down during a private call organized by House Democratic leadership, as our colleagues in D.C. reported. There’s only six weeks left until Democrats’ nominating convention in Chicago, so this next week could be crucial for Biden’s trajectory. GOOD MORNING. Happy Monday. Thanks for waking up with Playbook. We hope you had a nice holiday weekend. You can text us at 916-562-0685 — save it as “CA Playbook” in your contacts. Or drop us a line at lkorte@politico.com and dgardiner@politico.com, or on X — @DustinGardiner and @Lara_Korte. WHERE’S GAVIN? Campaigning for Biden in New Hampshire. Newsom is expected to return to California later in the day.
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