Democratic anxiety over President Biden’s fitness to run for re-election erupted into the open on Tuesday in a spike of panic, as the first sitting member of Congress called on Mr. Biden to withdraw and a slew of other prominent officials who have backed the president vented their concerns.

週二，民主黨對拜登總統是否適合競選連任的焦慮情緒在恐慌中驟然爆發，第一位在任國會議員呼籲拜登退出競選，其他一些支持總統的知名官員也紛紛表達了擔憂。

One Democratic senator openly asked for assurances from the White House about Mr. Biden’s “condition” — “that this was a real anomaly and not just the way he is these days,” Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island told a local television station, where he said he had been “horrified” by the president’s debate performance.

一名民主党參議員公開要求白宮保證拜登的「狀況」——「這確實是反常的情況，不僅僅是他最近的表現」，羅德島州參議員謝爾登·懷特豪斯對當地一家電視台說，他對總統的辯論表現感到「震驚」。

Another, Senator Peter Welch of Vermont, scolded the Biden campaign for “a dismissive attitude towards people who are raising questions for discussion,” in an interview with Semafor.

另一位是佛蒙特州參議員彼得·韋爾奇，他在接受新聞網站Semafor採訪時，指責拜登的競選團隊「對那些提出問題進行討論的人態度輕蔑」。

And later on Tuesday, Representative Lloyd Doggett of Texas, a veteran progressive lawmaker, issued a statement saying that Mr. Biden’s debate performance, which he had hoped would give the president momentum to make up for his weakness relative to former President Donald J. Trump, had instead disqualified him from running again.

週二晚些時候，資深進步派、得克薩斯州眾議員勞埃德·多格特發表聲明說，他原本希望拜登能藉由這次辯論給他帶來動力，彌補相對於前總統川普的劣勢，結果卻令他顯得沒有資格再次參選。

“I had hoped that the debate would provide some momentum to change that. It did not,” Mr. Doggett said. “Instead of reassuring voters, the president failed to effectively defend his many accomplishments and expose Trump’s many lies.”

「我曾希望這場辯論能提供一些動力，去改變這種狀況。但事實並非如此，」多格特說。「總統非但沒有讓選民放心，而且沒能有效地捍衛自己的許多成就，也沒能揭露川普的許多謊言。」

The vast majority of Democrats, including party leaders, remain publicly supportive of Mr. Biden, and the few critics who have dared to voice their concerns so far are not major players in the party with large followings. Still, after days of privately fretting over Mr. Biden’s fumbling, faltering debate performance late last week, by Tuesday a growing number of Democrats appeared willing to air their frustrations.

包括民主黨領導人在內的絕大多數民主黨人仍然公開支持拜登，而迄今為止敢於表達擔憂的少數批評者並不是擁有大量追隨者的黨內重要人物。儘管如此，在就拜登上週辯論中的笨拙表現私下抱怨了幾天之後，到週二，越來越多的民主黨人似乎願意表達不滿。

It was a notable inflection point that came just a day after the president addressed the nation in prime time in an effort to assuage concerns about his ability to speak in public.

這是一個值得注意的轉折點，就在一天前，總統在黃金時段向全國發表了講話，試圖緩解人們對他在公共場合講話能力的擔憂。

Distraught about the pressure from within Mr. Biden’s own firmament, White House officials were discussing sending Mr. Biden to battleground states, including to Wisconsin on Friday and Pennsylvania on Sunday, to do what allies have been urging: show him in public settings for longer durations. And they were discussing having Mr. Biden meet on Wednesday with Democratic governors, many of whom have not had direct contact with the president since the debate, causing exasperation among some who have yet to hear from him.

出於對來自拜登陣營內部壓力的擔憂，白宮官員正在討論讓拜登前往搖擺州，包括週五前往威斯康辛州，週日前往賓夕法尼亞州，響應盟友的呼籲，延長他在公共場合的露面時間。他們還在討論讓拜登在週三與一些民主黨州長會面，許多州長自辯論後尚未與總統進行過直接接觸，這讓一些尚未接到總統電話的州長感到憤怒。

Much of the anxiety among lawmakers, strategists and operatives is being driven by a double-barreled fear — not just that Mr. Biden’s stumbles will cost him the White House, but that they might also make it impossible for Democrats to win the critical races that will decide control of the House and Senate, thus depriving them of a crucial check on the power of a potential Trump presidency.

議員、策略師和工作人員的大部分焦慮來自雙重的擔憂——不僅擔心拜登的失誤會讓他失去白宮，還擔心可能會讓民主黨人無法贏得決定眾議院和參議院控制權的關鍵競選，從而令他們失去對潛在的川普總統權力的關鍵制衡。

“He clearly has to understand,” Representative Mike Quigley, Democrat of Illinois, said on CNN on Tuesday, “that his decision not only impacts who is going to serve in the White House the next four years, but who is going to serve in the Senate, who is going to serve in the House, and it’s going to have implications for decades to come.”

「顯然，他必須明白，」伊利諾州民主黨眾議員邁克·奎格利週二在CNN上說，「他的決定不僅會影響到未來四年誰將入主白宮，還會影響到誰將入主參議院，誰將入主眾議院，這將對未來幾十年產生影響。」

Many Democratic offices on Capitol Hill have reported being barraged by calls from their constituents urging lawmakers to ask Mr. Biden to step down. Mr. Doggett said in an interview that the calls and messages he was receiving from constituents and supporters were “10 to 1” in favor of Mr. Biden stepping down. Another recounted that the messages were divided evenly between constituents calling for Mr. Biden to withdraw and those who thought he was fit to serve.

國會山莊的許多民主黨議員辦公室都報告稱，接到了大量選民敦促議員要求拜登下台的電話。多格特在接受採訪時說，他從選民和支持者那裡接到的電話和信息顯示，支持拜登退出和不希望他退出的比例是「10比1」。另一位議員表示，要求拜登退出的選民和認為他適合擔任公職的選民各佔一半。

And it is clear that Republicans plan to use the questions around Mr. Biden’s mental acuity and fitness for office as a millstone around the necks of vulnerable Democrats.

很明顯，共和黨人有意利用圍繞拜登精神敏銳度和是否適合擔任公職的問題，把這作為壓在脆弱的民主黨人脖子上的沉重負擔。

The day after the debate, Republican trackers — operatives who film candidates and pelt them with politically treacherous questions — followed frontline House Democrats on their way home to their districts and asked them the same question: “Is Joe Biden fit to be president?”

辯論結束後的第二天，共和黨的跟拍者——跟拍候選人並向他們拋出危險政治問題的人——在眾議院民主黨人回到各自選區的路上跟蹤他們，問他們同樣的問題：「喬·拜登適合當總統嗎?」

“Joe Biden is president,” Representative Marcy Kaptur, Democrat of Ohio, replied testily. “Are you fit to be president?”

「喬·拜登就是總統，」俄亥俄州民主黨眾議員瑪西·卡普圖爾憤怒地回答。「那你適合當總統嗎？」

But privately, many Democrats are deeply concerned. Democrats in congressional races across the country have long understood that they would need to outperform Mr. Biden in order to win their seats. In that sense, several party operatives working on congressional races said Mr. Biden’s performance would do little to affect their strategy.

但私下裡，許多民主黨人對此深感擔憂。長期以來，全國各地參加國會競選的民主黨人都明白，他們需要比拜登表現得更好，才能贏得自己的席位。從這個意義上說，參與國會競選的幾名黨內人士表示，拜登的表現對他們的戰略影響不大。

Representative Jared Golden, Democrat of Maine, for example, who represents a district Mr. Trump won in 2020, said on Tuesday in an opinion column that he has long believed the former president would win in November — “and I’m OK with that.”

例如，緬因州民主黨眾議員賈里德·高爾登代表的是川普曾在2020年獲勝的選區，週二，他在一篇觀點專欄中表示，他一直認為前總統會在11月獲勝——「我對此沒有意見」。

“Maine’s representatives will need to work with him when it benefits Mainers, hold him accountable when it does not and work independently across the aisle no matter what,” Mr. Golden wrote.

高爾登寫道：「緬因州的代表們需要在有利於緬因州的時候與他合作，在不利於緬因州的時候向他問責，無論如何都要超越兩黨分歧，獨立地進行工作。」

In a pair of statements from Democrats’ House and Senate campaign arms, spokesmen stressed that congressional races were “candidate vs. candidate battles,” as David Bergstein, the Senate campaign communications director, said.

在民主黨兩院競選部門的兩份聲明中，發言人強調，正如參議院競選聯絡主任戴維·伯格斯坦所說，國會競選是「候選人與候選人之間的戰鬥」。

But Mr. Biden’s debate performance, which unleashed a new wave of questions about his age and mental condition, has cast a dark shadow over the Democrats who are running down-ballot.

但拜登在辯論中的表現引發了對他年齡和精神狀況的新一波質疑，給正在競選的民主黨人蒙上了陰影。

“It is noteworthy that our most significant Senate candidates have been running so significantly ahead of the president in places like Nevada and the rest of the country,” Mr. Doggett said in an interview. “But if we are not able to have a more vigorous and more effective campaign, we could end up with a Republican House and Senate. And there is concern that even if they have one of those houses, we have no check on Trump at all.”

「值得注意的是，我們最重要的參議員候選人在內華達州和全國其他地方的支持率一直遙遙領先於總統，」多格特在接受採訪時說。「但是，如果我們不能展開一場更積極、更有效的競選，最終可能會產生由共和黨把持的參眾兩院。而且，令人擔憂的是，就算他們只擁有其中一院，我們也根本無法制衡川普。」

Mr. Doggett said he believed that Democrats were in a good position to win control of the House. “But if you look at it state by state, the margin will be — under the best of circumstances — a modest one. And that is why we need all the help we can get from the top.”

多格特說，他相信民主黨有能力贏得眾議院的控制權。「但是如果逐個州來看，在最好的情況下，優勢也不會太大。所以我們需要盡可能多地得到來自高層的幫助。」

For now, leading Democrats are expressing strong backing for Mr. Biden. Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the majority leader, said during an appearance in Syracuse on Tuesday that, “yes,” he believed the president was fit to serve.

目前，民主黨領導人都在大力支持拜登。參議院多數黨領袖、紐約州參議員查克·舒默週二在錫拉丘茲露面時表示，「是的」，他認為拜登適合擔任總統。

“I’m with Joe Biden,” he said.

「我支持喬·拜登，」他說。

But for the first time, at least one prominent Democrat who remains behind Mr. Biden entertained questions about him withdrawing. Representative James E. Clyburn of South Carolina, whose support in 2020 helped Mr. Biden earn the Democratic nomination, said he would back Vice President Kamala Harris if the president stepped down.

但是，至少有一位仍然支持拜登的知名民主黨人首次接受了有關他退出的質疑。南卡羅來納州眾議員詹姆斯·克萊伯恩表示，如果拜登退出，他將支持副總統卡瑪拉·哈利斯。克萊伯恩在2020年的支持幫助拜登獲得了民主黨提名。

“I will support her if he were to step aside,” Mr. Clyburn said on MSNBC on Tuesday, although he added: “I want this ticket to continue to be Biden-Harris.”

「如果他退出，我會支持她，」克萊伯恩週二在MSNBC上說，但他還說：「我希望這張票依然是拜登—哈利斯。」

Some Democrats believe that if Mr. Biden stays in the race and continues to lag Mr. Trump in the polls or falls behind more, the party and its major donors may simply focus their money and energy on trying to keep hold of the Senate and win back the House rather than contest the presidency.

一些民主黨人認為，如果拜登繼續參加競選，在民調中繼續落後於川普，或者落後得更多，民主黨及其主要捐助者可能會把資金和精力集中在保住參議院和贏回眾議院，而不是競選總統。

That was how Republicans handled the 1996 election with their presidential nominee, Bob Dole, trailing badly. Their efforts led the G.O.P. to maintain control of Congress, stymying the second term of Bill Clinton much as Democrats would hope to do during a second Trump administration.

1996年大選時，共和黨人就是這樣處理的，當時他們的總統候選人鮑勃·多爾嚴重落後。他們的努力讓共和黨保持了對國會的控制，給比爾·柯林頓的第二任期帶來阻礙，民主黨人希望，如果川普獲得第二任期，他們也能做到這樣。

“Democrats may say, ‘We’d better get our act together or we could lose everything,’” said Steve Jarding, a veteran Democratic political strategist and former lecturer at the Harvard Kennedy School. “And the American public seems to like divided government.”

「民主黨人可能會說，『我們最好齊心協力，否則我們可能會失去一切，』」民主黨資深政治策略師、哈佛大學甘迺迪學院前講師史提夫·賈丁說。「美國公眾似乎喜歡由不同黨派控制不同機構的政府。」