Pressure on Joe Biden to drop out of the US presidential race intensified on Wednesday with a stunning New York Times report that he had admitted the possibility to a key ally, with a movement growing within his own party calling for him to step down.
The White House and Biden’s campaign quickly denied a Times report that the president told a supporter he couldn’t afford to make another misstep that would permanently damage his campaign. Biden himself insisted to campaign staff that he wanted to stay in the race.
“I’m in this race until the end, and we will win because when Democrats are united, we always win,” Biden said in a conversation with Vice President Kamala Harris.
Still, time is running out for the embattled president to convince worried Democratic officials, donors and voters that he remains viable in his effort to prevent former President Donald Trump from returning to office. In another blow, dozens of Democratic lawmakers are considering signing a letter demanding Biden withdraw from the race, a senior party official said.
That concern has been heightened by recent reports that other Democrats are also eyeing potential replacement candidates — and further fueled by the Times report.
According to the Times report, Biden told an aide that the race would be in a “different place” if upcoming events went poorly. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre later said Biden flatly denied making such a comment.
Biden plans to give an interview with ABC News on Friday and hold a rally in Madison, Wisconsin. On Sunday, he will travel to Philadelphia for another campaign event. He also plans interviews with black radio stations in Philadelphia and Milwaukee during his trip.
Biden has been making calls to senior Democratic lawmakers — including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries — to shore up support on Capitol Hill, while members of his party have publicly expressed frustration with his campaign.
So far, only two incumbent House Democrats — Lloyd Doggett of Texas and Raul Grijalva of Arizona — have publicly called on Biden to step down. But the president will not be able to escape a coordinated revolt among Democratic lawmakers who are concerned that his poor performance could cost them seats or a chance to regain control of the House and Senate in the upcoming election.
Jean-Pierre said Biden had told him that negotiations with congressional Democrats were “robust.”
“He’s moving forward as president. He’s moving forward with his campaign,” he said.
However, one Senate Democrat said Wednesday evening that several aides have privately indicated they see no path for the president to survive politically. The senator, who asked not to be named to speak candidly about discussions among colleagues, said Biden has not addressed concerns about the fallout from his debate performance against Trump.
Biden has served in the Senate for 36 years, and Democrats there have remained largely silent about his candidacy during a tumultuous week.
Later Wednesday, Biden held a hastily called meeting with Democratic governors, several of whom are at the center of speculation about who will replace him on the ticket. Several said they stood firmly with Biden. “The president was very clear that he is in it to win it,” Maryland Governor Wes Moore told reporters.
Crisis meeting
Moore and other nationally prominent governors with extensive fundraising networks such as Gavin Newsom of California, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and J.B. Pritzker of Illinois traveled to the White House in person for the crisis meeting, while others attended virtually.
“I heard three words from the president – he’s totally with us. And so am I. Joe Biden has our back. Now it’s time for him to join us,” Newsom said.
But other recent reports have fueled speculation among Democratic allies. On Tuesday, The Washington Post said former President Barack Obama had privately told aides that Biden’s path to reelection was more challenging after his debate performance.
Reuters has published a new poll showing Harris – the most likely successor if Biden withdraws – trails Republican candidate Trump by one point. Momentum behind the vice president, who can handle the campaign’s large war chest, has gathered in recent days. The two had lunch together on Wednesday afternoon and jointly participated in their campaign’s conference call.
A Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll in May showed Harris gaining trust among swing-state voters, 48% of whom say she is willing to take over presidential duties if Biden is unable to remain in office.
The Leadership Now Project, a group of business leaders who organized to counter what they saw as threats to democracy during the previous Trump administration, called on Biden to abandon his position as the Democratic nominee.
“This process will undoubtedly be messy and is not without risk,” the group said in a statement. “However, the risks are so high that it is not advisable to take no action.”
all hands call
In Wilmington, Delaware, staff at Biden’s campaign headquarters received an email from campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez and chairwoman Jen O’Malley Dillon stating that the campaign would increase the number of calls and emails to all staffers for better coordination.
White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients held a similar meeting with staff there on Wednesday, urging them to keep their heads up and continue to carry out their responsibilities while acknowledging that “tonight was not a good night” for Biden.
“People are looking for a conversation,” he said, according to a recording of the call obtained by Bloomberg. “Don’t pay any attention to it.”
The campaign memo asked staffers to emphasize the “full picture” of support for Biden, and downplay recent polls that show a clear swing toward Trump.
“Polls are merely a snapshot in time, and we should all expect them to continue to fluctuate — it will take weeks, not days, before the full picture of the race emerges,” the two wrote.
Part of this effort included sending a memo to congressional staffers emphasizing that the polls remained within the margin of error, and that the campaign believed the poor showing in the coming weeks was not indicative of a true “reshaping of the race.”
However, a New York Times/Siena College poll released Wednesday found that Trump’s lead over Biden has grown by six points to 49% to 43%, with nearly three-quarters of voters saying the Democratic president is too old for the job.
South Carolina Democrat Jim Clyburn, a key Biden supporter who spoke to the president on Wednesday, told CNN that he now wants to see the president at “town-hall type” events and that making an appearance there would assuage some fears.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
