It is no news that there have been calls for U.S President, Joe Biden to step aside from the presidential race amid questions over his fitness for office.
Two Democratic lawmakers called on Biden to exit the race, and a third Congressman said he had “grave concerns” about Biden’s ability to beat Trump.
The White House, meanwhile, was forced to deny reports that Biden is weighing whether his candidacy is still viable.
Nonetheless, senior advisers claim that they believe that the 81-year-old Biden may have mere days to mount a convincing display of his fitness for office before his party’s panic over his debate performance and anger about his response boils over.
The two people who made this statement on condition of anonymity added that Biden accepts the urgency of the task, having reviewed the polling and mountains of media coverage, but he is convinced he can do that in the coming days.
Even as other Democratic allies have remained quiet since the debate, there is a growing private frustration about the Biden campaign’s response to his disastrous debate performance at a crucial moment in the campaign — particularly in Biden waiting several days to do direct damage control with senior members of his own party.
One Democratic aide stated that the lacking response has been worse than the debate performance itself, saying lawmakers who support Biden want to see him directly combatting the concerns about his stamina in front of reporters and voters.
Most Democratic lawmakers are taking a wait-and-see approach with Biden, though, holding out for a better idea of how the situation plays out through new polling and Biden’s scheduled news interview with a U.S news channel.
A Defiant Biden Shores Up Governors’ Support
Meanwhile, a defiant Joe Biden vowed to keep running for reelection, rejecting growing pressure from Democrats to withdraw after a disastrous debate performance raised questions.
“Let me say this as clearly as I possibly can as simply and straightforward as I can: I am running … no one’s pushing me out,” Biden said on a call with staffers from his reelection campaign.
He added, “I’m not leaving. I’m in this race to the end and we’re going to win.”
Despite some insiders reportedly rallying around her as a possible replacement, Kamala Harris stood by Biden’s side, saying, “We will not back down. We will follow our President’s lead.”
“We will fight, and we will win,” she added.
The Governors, including Tim Walz of Minnesota, Wes Moore of Maryland, Gavin Newsom of California and Kathy Hochul of New York, held a closed-door meeting with Biden in Washington as he sought to reassure his party and the public that he is up to the job.
Biden met for more than an hour at the White House in person and virtually with more than 20 Governors from his party.
The Governors told reporters afterward that the conversation was “candid” and said they expressed concerns about Biden’s debate performance last week.
They reiterated that defeating Donald Trump in November was the priority, but said they were still standing behind Biden and did not join other Democrats who have been urging him to withdraw his candidacy.
“We, like many Americans, are worried,” Walz said.
“We are all looking for the path to win – all the Governors agree with that. President Biden agrees with that. He has had our backs through COVID… the governors have his back. We’re working together just to make very, very clear that a path to victory in November is the No 1 priority and that’s the No 1 priority of the President … The feedback was good. The conversation was honest.”
Tim Walz
Moore asserted, “The President is our nominee. The President is our party leader.”
He said that Biden “was very clear that he’s in this to win it.”
“We were honest about the feedback we’re getting … and the concerns we’re hearing from people. We’re going to have his back … the results we’ve been able to see under this administration have been undeniable.”
Wes Moore
Gavin Newsom stated after the meeting, “I heard three words from the president tonight – he’s all in. And so am I.”
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