President Joe Biden and his White House Staffers offered pep talks Wednesday in calls and meetings with aides, the Democratic governor, lawmakers and campaign staff.
“I want to say this as clearly, as simply and as frankly as I can: I am running for office.” Biden “I will not resign. I will fight this campaign to the end and we will win,” a source told NBC News during a call with campaign staff.
The comments are part of a larger fire-fighting mission as Biden’s team works to quell Democratic panic about his reelection following his disastrous performance in last week’s debate with former President Donald Trump.
Appearing alongside Biden at the rally on Wednesday was Vice President Kamala Harris, who has increasingly been seen as a possible successor to the president if he drops out of the race.
The president met Wednesday with some of his closest allies and supporters on Capitol Hill, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-Colo., House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Sen. Chris Coons, D-Delaware.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at a press conference Wednesday that the president also has recorded interviews with two black radio shows, Civic Media Network’s “The Earl Ingraham Show” and WURD Radio’s “The Source with Andrea Lawful Sanders,” that will air Thursday morning.
On Wednesday evening, the president is scheduled to meet with Democratic governors from around the country, many of whom have emerged as potential candidates to succeed Biden. The meeting follows a meeting with governors on Monday, where they reportedly expressed concerns about the Democratic Party’s future path. NBC News.
New polls are sending mixed signals about where the president currently stands in a rematch with Trump.
Get noticed The New York Times/Siena College The poll released Wednesday shows Trump leading Biden, 49% to 41%, among likely voters surveyed. Among those planning to vote, Trump has a slight lead over Biden, 6 points, but that’s 3 points higher than before the debate. The New York Times poll was conducted June 28-July 2 among 1,532 likely voters nationwide. The margin of error is plus or minus 2.8 percentage points for likely voters. The debate took place on June 27.
a The Wall Street Journal A poll released Wednesday showed similar results, with Trump leading Biden, 48% to 42%. The survey was conducted among 1,500 voters from June 29 to July 2 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.
Tuesday CNN Poll It also found that Trump holds a 6-point lead over Biden, consistent with an April poll, with the question having a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.
The close post-debate polls are a snapshot of voters’ immediate reactions and could change the outcome as voters take more time to digest Biden’s subpar performance.
As Biden’s campaign continues its onslaught, pressure is growing for the president to consider dropping out of the 2024 race.
The New York Times reported on Wednesday that Biden had privately told allies he was considering whether to continue in the campaign. Multiple media outlets, including CNN and ABC News, also reported the same. The White House repetition These reports error.
Speaker Pelosi and Rep. Clyburn, in television interviews on Tuesday, said it was natural to question Biden’s physical and cognitive health, but they also doubled down on their support for the president.
Also on Tuesday, Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) became the first Democrat to publicly call on Biden to drop out of the race. Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) later called on Biden to drop out of the race. Editorial “Donald Trump Will Win the Election and Democracy Will Be Fine,” he wrote, expressing distrust for Biden’s candidacy.
In response, the White House and Biden’s campaign announced a series of events over the next week to reassure the public.
The president will give an interview to ABC News on Friday and visit key battleground states including Wisconsin on Friday and Pennsylvania on Sunday. The White House also announced that Biden will hold a press conference at the NATO summit next week.
“He’s done over 40 interviews this year alone and he plans to continue doing that,” Jean-Pierre said Tuesday. “Those were unscripted interviews. He’s done over 500 ‘gags’ that are unscripted. And he plans to continue doing that.”
