BIDEN SAYS HE'LL STAY IN THE RACE
Signs suggest eroding support on Capitol Hill after debate
ELECTION 2024
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden vowed Wednesday to keep running for reelection, rejecting growing pressure from Democrats to withdraw after a disastrous debate performance raised questions about his readiness.
In an ominous sign for the president, a leading ally publicly suggested a way that the party might choose someone else.
"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. "I'm not leaving. I'm in this race to the end and we're going to win."
The president pulled 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 mounting signs that support for Biden is eroding among Democrats on Capitol Hill.
Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., told The New York Times that while he backs Biden as long as he is a candidate, this "is an opportunity to look elsewhere" and what Biden "needs to do is shoulder the responsibility for keeping that seat — and part of that responsibility is to get out of this race."
Meanwhile, Rep. Jim Clyburn, a longtime Biden friend and confidant, 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, a South Carolina Democrat, floated an idea that appeared to be laying the groundwork for alternatives by delegates during the Democrats' planned virtual roll call that is scheduled before the more formal party convention, which is scheduled to begin Aug. 19 in Chicago.
"You can actually fashion the process that's already in place to make it a mini-primary and I would support that," Clyburn told CNN.
He said that Vice President Kamala Harris, governors and others could join the competition. "It would be fair to everybody. … Because if she were to be the nominee we need to have a running mate. And need a strong running mate."
Some suggested Harris was the favorite to replace Biden if he were to withdraw, though those involved in private discussions acknowledge that Govs. Gavin Newsom of California and Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan remain viable alternatives. But for some insiders, Harris is viewed as the best prospect to quickly unify the party and avoid a messy and divisive convention fight.
Even as pressure around Biden mounted, he and Harris made a surprise appearance on an all-staff reelection campaign call and offered a pep talk. They stressed how important it was to beat former President Donald Trump, the presumptive nominee, in November and returned to Biden's previous post-debate vow that when he gets knocked down, he gets up again.
"Just as we beat Donald Trump in 2020, we're going to beat him again in 2024," said Biden, who told participants that he would not be dragged out of the race.
Harris added: "We will not back down. We will follow our president's lead. We will fight, and we will win."
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked during her briefing with reporters a short time later whether Biden would consider stepping down. "Absolutely not," she said.
"I cannot lay out something that would change the president's mind," Jean-Pierre said about Biden continuing to seek a second term. She added that he "is cleareyed. And he is staying in the race."
Still, Democrats are unsatisfied with the explanations of Biden's debate performance, from both White House staff and the president. There is a deeper frustration among some in the party 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.
The House Democratic leadership planned an evening call, and the Leadership Now Project, a group of business executives, academics and thought leaders, said in a letter that the "threat of a second Trump term" is great enough that Biden should "pass the torch of this year's presidential nomination to the next generation of highly capable Democrats."
Trump's campaign issued a statement noting that "every Democrat" now calling on the president "to quit was once a supporter of Biden."
Trump had a slight lead over Biden in two polls of voters after last week's debate. One poll, conducted by SSRS for CNN, found that three-quarters of voters — including more than half of Democratic voters — said the party has a better chance of winning the presidency in November with a candidate other than Biden.
About 7 in 10 voters, and 45% of Democrats, said Biden's physical and mental ability is a reason to vote against him, according to the CNN/SSRS poll.
About 6 in 10 voters, including about one-quarter of Democrats, said reelecting Biden would be a risky choice for the country rather than a safe one, according to a New York Times/Siena College poll. That poll found that Democrats were split on whether Biden should remain the nominee.
In a further eff ort to boost morale, Biden chief of staff Jeff Zients urged White House aides during an all-staff meeting to tune out the "noise" and focus on the task of governing.
Biden began making personal outreach on his own, speaking privately with senior 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.