As a political writer based in Venice, California, I like to think I’ve developed a good antenna for vibes. And lemme tell ya: Democrats did not have a chill weekend. After The New York Times and Siena dropped a series of 2024 polls on Sunday showing Joe Biden losing handily to Donald Trump in five of the six closest battleground states—weighed down by concerns about his age and souring opinions of young people and nonwhite voters—Democrats everywhere went into full freak-out mode. Former Obama adviser David Axelrod, who has already made enemies in Biden world for criticizing the president, suggested on Twitter that Biden should drop out of the race. “Among all the unpredictables there is one thing that is sure: the age arrow only points in one direction,” Axelrod wrote. Biden loyalists like former chief of staff Ron Klain and campaign spokesman T.J. Ducklo went after Axelrod in response, mocking his newfound career as a pundit. Biden, Klain wrote, “is the kind of tough fighter that enabled him to beat Trump in 2020 and he’ll punch him out again this time.”