The best scenario for Biden was that it’d become obvious that he wasn’t stepping aside and the calls for him to go would be limited to pundits and editorial boards and then die down when he didn’t go anywhere.
Instead, the drumbeat has continued, the press has finally begun to report on his reduced capacities, some officeholders are beginning to speak more frankly in public, the polling is quite bad, and there are reports now that Biden is discussing the possibility of leaving the race with confidantes.
All this means that it now may be beyond Biden’s control to stop this spiral, and even if his interviews and appearances go well in coming days, no one is going to believe that he couldn’t have other terrible lapses and perhaps sooner rather than later.
The chances of Kamala Harris being the nominee are increasing by the day and maybe the hour.