WASHINGTON — A defiant President Joe Biden vowed on Wednesday to keep running for reelection, rejecting growing pressure from Democrats to withdraw after a disastrous debate performance raised questions about his readiness.
“I am running. I am the leader of the Democratic Party. No one is pushing me out,” Biden said in a call with staffers on his reelection campaign, according to a top aide who posted his comment on the X social media platform.
Biden was pulling every possible lever to try to salvage his reelection campaign — talking to top legislators, pumping up his campaign staff and meeting later in the day with Democratic governors before a planned weekend blitz of travel and a network TV interview.
But there were signs that support for Biden was rapidly eroding among Democrats on Capitol Hill. In an ominous one for the president, a leading ally publicly suggested a way that the party might choose someone else.
Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-South Carolina, a longtime Biden ally, said he would back a “mini-primary” in the run-up to the Democratic National Convention next month if Biden were to leave the race. Clyburn floated an idea that appeared to be laying the groundwork for alternatives by delegates during a planned virtual roll call that scheduled before the more formal party convention.
Clyburn, a senior lawmaker who is a former member of his party’s House leadership team, said he has not personally seen the president act as he did on the debate stage last week.
“I saw what I saw last Thursday night, and it is concerning,” Clyburn said.
Some suggested Harris was emerging as the favorite to replace Biden if he withdrew, although those involved in private discussions acknowledge that Govs. Gavin Newsom of California and Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan remain viable alternatives. For some insiders, Harris is viewed as the best prospect to quickly unify the party and avoid a divisive convention fight.
As pressure around Biden mounted, he and Harris made a surprise appearance on a call with staffers from his reelection campaign and offered a pep talk.. The president told those assembled that he was not leaving the race and would not be dragged out.
Asked a short time later whether Biden would consider stepping down, White House press secretary Karine Jean Pierre said “absolutely not.”
Democrats are unsatisfied with the explanations of Biden’s debate performance, from both White House staff and the president himself. There is a deeper frustration among some Democrats who feel Biden should have handled questions about his stumbling debate performance much sooner and that he has put them in a difficult position by staying in the race.
White House chief of staff Jeff Zients urged people during an earlier all-staff meeting Wednesday to tune out the “noise” and focus on the task of governing.
The chief of staff also encouraged aides to “continue being a team” and, while acknowledging the increasing political chatter, to “tune it out” and stay disciplined, according to the official, who was granted anonymity to relay Zients’ private remarks.
Biden himself began making personal outreach on his own, speaking privately with senior Democratic lawmakers such as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, Delaware Sen. Chris Coons and Clyburn.
Staff-wide White House calls aren’t unusual, but Wednesday’s 15-minute check-in came as Biden and senior White House officials were working to assuage rattled lawmakers, donors and other allies within the party amid sharpening questions about whether the 81-year-old president had the competency to run for a second term in office.
Biden and Harris also held one of their occasional lunches, and the president was planning on hosting an assortment of Democratic governors at the White House in the evening.
Among the Democratic governors who were planning to attend in person were Tim Walz of Minnesota, who leads the Democratic Governors Association, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, Maura Healey of Massachusetts, Daniel McKee of Rhode Island, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Andy Beshear of Kentucky, Wes Moore of Maryland and Gavin Newsom of California, according to their aides. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy were planning on attending virtually. Maine Gov. Janet Mills is attending virtually.
Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick and Farnoush Amiri in Washington, Adam Beam in Sacramento, California; John O’Connor in Springfield, Illinois.; Mike Catalini in Trenton, New Jersey; Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis; Steve LeBlanc in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Marc Levy in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Joey Cappelletti in Lansing, Michigan; Dylan Lovan in Louisville, Kentucky; Makiya Seminera in Raleigh, North Carolina; and John D. Hanna in Topeka, Kansas, contributed to this report.
