US President Joe Biden watches the 115th NAACP National Convention on July 16, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
Tom Brenner | Reuters
President Joe Biden’s campaign insisted Friday that Biden remains the leading Democratic candidate, stressing in a new memo that he still has the support of voters even as a growing number of Democrats call for him to withdraw.
“While contacted voters consistently mentioned President Biden’s age, our target voters – both re-engaged and true swing voters – still plan to vote for him, making it clear that the debates have not eroded support among the voters who will decide this election,” the memo, first reported by NBC News, said.
“Joe Biden has made it very clear that he is in this race and he is in it to win. Further, he is the presumptive nominee and has no plans to field an alternative candidate,” the memo said.
On Friday, more than a dozen Democratic lawmakers publicly called on Biden to not seek reelection, bringing the total to more than 30.
“Within a few weeks, Joe Biden will be the official nominee. It’s time to stop fighting,” Kanninen’s memo read. “The only person who will win if we fight is Donald Trump.”
However, Kanninen says that many Biden is lagging behind Trump in opinion polls“I am not taking the situation in the race lightly, as we have much work to do if we are to win in November,” he wrote.
Biden, who tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday, is currently self-isolating in Rehoboth, Delaware.
Biden campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon said Friday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that the president will resume campaigning next week.
