According to two people familiar with the conversation, Biden answered a call from concerned members of his campaign team and assured them he would not be leaving.
Nobody is ejecting me. I’m not going anywhere. In a different email blast sent out by his campaign, Biden declared, “I’m in this race to the end,” pleading with followers to “pitch in a few bucks” to help him defeat Republican opponent Donald Trump on November 5.
Following his lackluster debate performance, the president met both electronically and in person with 24 Democratic governors and the mayor of Washington, D.C. on Wednesday night to persuade them he is capable of leading the party.
Just three of the governors—the governors of New York, Minnesota, and Maryland—met with reporters following the event and made a commitment to support Biden following what they described as an open dialogue regarding his unsatisfactory performance in the previous week’s debate.
“The president has consistently stood by us. We’ll have his back too, Governor Wes Moore of Maryland declared.
The Democratic Governors Association leader, Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota, stated that although Biden’s performance in the Thursday night debate versus former President Trump was subpar, he still thought Biden was qualified for the position.
After Thursday’s discussion with Trump, during which the president occasionally lost his line of thought, mumbled under his breath, and even mentioned defeating Medicare, worries regarding Biden’s age and mental capacity skyrocketed. After two overseas travels, the president claimed to be exhausted, and the White House claimed he was suffering from a cold.
Responding to a question on Wednesday about Biden’s potential resignation, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated, “Absolutely not.”
Shortly after her remarks, two nationwide surveys indicated that Biden’s prospects against Trump, who hurled a litany of well-known lies throughout the debate, had declined.
Trump was leading Biden by one percentage point, 48% to 42%, according to a Wall Street Journal survey; however, poll revealed that Trump’s lead had increased by three points, to 49% to 43%.
Representative Seth Moulton of Massachusetts cited Biden’s age as a disadvantage in a call with House Democrats on Wednesday, while Representative Raúl Grijalva of Arizona demanded that Biden withdraw from the race.
In a statement, Moulton stated, “The sad truth is that the status quo will probably deliver us President Trump.” “There will be no ageing of President Biden.”
Although the campaign has showcased its financial accomplishments with small-scale contributors and conducted damage control calls with supporters, Reed Hastings, a significant Democratic Party supporter and co-founder of Netflix (NFLX.O), opens new tab, has demanded that Biden resign.
In the interim, support has grown for Vice President Kamala Harris as a possible successor.
Advisor to Democratic megadonor Reid Hoffman and co-founder of LinkedIn, Dmitri Mehlhorn, said that his team would “enthusiastically support a ticket led by our tough and savvy vice president if Biden were to step aside for any reason.”
Melhorn stated that among Trump’s “Make America Great Again” backers, Harris was the only credible national candidate who had already faced significant criticism.
“We would lose Joe’s superpower brand, but we would gain other benefits and would still be competitive,” he stated.
PRESIDENTS AS SUBTITLES?
scheduled to be recorded and shown on Friday during a campaign visit to Madison, Wisconsin, will be eagerly watched by Democrats and contributors who are worried about Biden’s chances of winning in November.
According to the White House, Biden has had conversations with Democratic congressional leaders and Representative Jim Clyburn, a key player in Biden’s victory in 2020.
The first prominent party figure to openly discuss how the party could replace Biden as a candidate is Clyburn, who has stated that he would support Harris as the presidential nominee in the event that Biden stepped down. Clyburn said the party should organize a “mini-primary” in the event that Biden steps down.
While several of the governors who met with Biden on Wednesday also represent him on the campaign trail, some of them could become rivals if pressure to stand down were to mount.
Governors Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Andy Beshear of Kentucky, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, and Gavin Newsom of California have all been touted as potential Biden successors.
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