US President Joe Biden vowed to stay in the 2024 presidential race during a call with campaign staff on Wednesday and tried to reassure top Democrats on Capitol Hill that he is fit for re-election despite his disastrous performance last week.
According to two sources familiar with the call, Biden spoke to worried members of his campaign team and told them he wasn’t going anywhere.
“I’m running,” Biden said, according to a source, adding that he would remain the leader of the Democratic Party and would not be forced out.
The president will meet with Democratic governors on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. ET (2230 GMT) to reassure them that he is ready to play the role of flag-bearer for the party after a volatile debate with Republican Donald Trump. Some governors will attend virtually.
When White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked Wednesday if Biden was considering stepping down, she said, “Absolutely not.”
A White House official said Biden spoke to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Tuesday and to Senate Majority Leader Senator Chuck Schumer on Wednesday. He also spoke to House Democrat Jim Clyburn on Wednesday, whose office said they later had a long, private conversation.
Clyburn, a kingmaker of sorts within the Democratic Party and a key player in Joe Biden’s 2020 victory, told CNN on Wednesday that the party should hold a “mini-primary” if Biden withdraws, the first senior member of the party to speak publicly about how, exactly, replacing Biden as the nominee would work.
Clyburn, who said on Tuesday he would support Vice President Kamala Harris as the presidential nominee if Biden steps down, added: “If she becomes the nominee, we’re going to need a partner and a strong partner. And so all of this will give us an opportunity to measure not only who would be best at the top of the ticket, but also who would be best in the second spot.”
Biden’s stilted performance in last week’s debate against Trump in Atlanta prompted him to step down as the Democratic presidential nominee for the Nov. 5 election. Trump repeated a longstanding list of falsehoods, including that he won the 2020 election.
Democrats raised new concerns about Biden on Tuesday, with one House member calling on him to get out and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a longtime Biden ally, saying it was legitimate to ask whether Biden’s performance in Atlanta was an “episode” or a bet.
Can any governor replace Biden?
The president has said he is exhausted after two foreign trips and the White House has said he has a cold. His campaign has fielded phone calls from donors seeking to recoup the losses, and Biden has so far shown no signs of abandoning his quest for a second term.
White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients also spoke with demoralized White House staff on Wednesday, acknowledging that the last few days have been challenging while emphasizing that the Biden team has a record to be proud of and has more work to do.
Some governors are potential rivals to Biden if pressure mounts to step down, but many of them also speak on Biden’s behalf during the campaign.
Multiple sources told Reuters that Harris is a potential successor if Biden steps down. However, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, California Governor Gavin Newsom, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear have been mentioned as potential replacements for Biden if he decides to step down as a 2024 candidate.
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