US President Joe Biden has reassured senior Democrats and campaign staffers on Wednesday to continue following reports suggesting he was reconsidering his campaign after a poor debate performance against Donald Trump last week.
Biden held a private lunch with Vice-President Kamala Harris at the White House amid speculation she might replace him as the party’s candidate in the November election.
In a subsequent call with the broader Democratic campaign, Biden affirmed his commitment to the race, stating, “I’m the nominee of the Democratic Party. No one’s pushing me out. I’m not leaving,” according to a source who spoke to BBC News.
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This sentiment was reiterated in a fundraising email from the Biden-Harris campaign, where Biden declared, “Let me say this as clearly and simply as I can: I’m running… in this race until the end.”
Questions about the 81-year-old president’s campaign viability emerged after his debate with Trump, marked by verbal lapses and a weak voice, raising concerns about his fitness for office.
Polls show Trump widening his lead, with a New York Times survey indicating a six-point advantage and a CBS News poll showing a three-point lead in crucial battleground states.
Pressure on Biden has increased, with Democratic donors and lawmakers urging him to step aside. Ramesh Kapur, a longtime Democratic fundraiser, stated, “I think it’s time for him to pass the torch… you can’t fight Mother Nature.”
Representative Raul Grijalva of Arizona echoed this sentiment, saying Democrats should “look elsewhere.”
Despite these calls, the White House and Biden campaign insist he is committed to running. Reports from The New York Times and CNN claimed Biden confided to an ally about evaluating his campaign, but a spokesperson dismissed these reports as “absolutely false.”
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre confirmed Biden’s commitment, stating, “We asked the president [and] the president responded directly… and said ‘no, it is absolutely false’.”
On a call with White House staff, Chief of Staff Jeff Zients urged focus on execution, stating, “Get things done. Execution. Execution. Execution.” Biden later met with 20 Democratic governors, who pledged their support. Maryland Governor Wes Moore said, “The president has always had our backs, we’re going to have his back as well.”
Vice-President Harris, considered a potential replacement, has seen increased support among Democrats since the debate. She reaffirmed her support for Biden, with a source close to her stating she would continue to support the campaign actively. Former Communications Director Jamal Simmons emphasized her role as a supportive partner to Biden.
Members of the Democratic National Committee, who will vote to officially nominate Biden at the August convention, expressed a preference for Harris as the nominee if Biden steps down. An anonymous committee member warned that opening the convention to other candidates could cause chaos detrimental to the party’s November prospects.
Biden and his team recognize the need to demonstrate his fitness for office. He appeared at a Medal of Honor ceremony on Wednesday and has planned trips to Wisconsin and Philadelphia later in the week, crucial for shoring up support and dispelling doubts about his campaign’s viability.
Obama rated higher to beat Trump, poll says
However, Michelle Obama would easily defeat Donald Trump if she took Joe Biden’s place in the 2024 U.S Presidential election, according to a new poll.
The Ipsos/Reuters poll, conducted on July 1 and 2, found Obama would defeat the former president by 11 points in November. Obama, wife of former president Barack Obama, was the only candidate who could defeat Trump, the Republican Presidential candidate, out of a list of hypothetical Biden replacements named in the poll.
Obama, who has repeatedly stated that she is not interested in running for president, was the only person out of the proposed alternatives to do better than Biden. According to the poll, Obama would defeat Trump with a 50-39 margin.
Already, Donald Trump would easily beat Vice President Kamala Harris in a presidential election, according to a new poll.
A DailyMail.com survey of 1,000 likely voters found that Trump would defeat Harris by 11 percentage points in a head-to-head race (49 percent to 38).
The poll took place amid ongoing speculation that Harris could replace President Joe Biden as the Democratic Party’s 2024’s nominee following his poor performance in the CNN debate with Trump on June 27.
