President Biden met with Democratic governors Wednesday evening as he defiantly denied new reports he is weighing whether to drop out of the presidential race over concerns about his debate performance.
Gov. Hochul and other blue state leaders sat down with Biden at the White House in his most significant face-to-face meeting with Democrats since the debate. The president seeks to calm fears that his re-election campaign against former President Donald Trump could be doomed after the debate last week.
Two published reports Wednesday said Biden has told an unnamed top ally that he may not be able to stay in the race if he cannot quickly convince the public he is up to the job.
The unnamed sources said Biden would take a couple of days to assess the situation. The White House quickly denied the reports.
He’s moving forward with serving as president. He’s moving forward with his campaign,” White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre told a briefing. “Anything else is absolutely false.”
The meeting on the eve of the July 4 holiday came after Democratic governors huddled online Monday and insisted on a private gathering with Biden.
Biden also had a private lunch with Vice President Kamala Harris earlier Wednesday, although the White House portrayed that as routine and not directly connected to the political firestorm.
Harris would be a leading candidate to be the Democratic nominee if Biden stepped down.
Biden reportedly spoke with Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in an effort to tamp down speculation he could step aside.
Biden’s inner circle — including First Lady Jill Biden — has so far remained firm that he is not even considering dropping out of the rematch against Trump.
Polls for now show the race is effectively a dead heat, although some Democrats are bracing for new post-debate surveys could show Trump opening up a lead.
But there’s growing anxiety among donors and on Capitol Hill about the president’s ability to beat Trump. Lawmakers worry he could drag down Democratic candidates up and down the ballot.
Biden’s so-far limited outreach to fellow Democratic elected officials since the debate has not helped quell the jitters.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday there were “legitimate questions” about whether Biden is healthy enough to run and Rep. James Clyburn suggested he would back Harris if Biden dropped out, a less than ringing endorsement of his longtime ally.
Biden, 81, told donors at a fundraiser he was exhausted after extensive overseas travel in the weeks before the debate, even joking that he “nearly fell asleep” on the debate stage.
The president gave a halting and disjointed performance in the debate with Trump last week, appearing to lose his train of thought at times and offering meandering answers to simple questions.
Biden supporters and campaign surrogates framed the debate as a “bad night” and an isolated incident. But some reports say Biden has been showing his age much more in recent months.
If Biden does drop out of the race, it is far from clear what would happen next.
Harris would be the most likely frontrunner to replace him at the top of the ticket. But other top Democrats might balk at a coronation.
Jean-Pierre said Biden considers Harris to be “the future” of the party, potentially strengthening her claim as his top lieutenant.
“One of the reasons he picked … Vice President Kamala Harris is because she is indeed the future of the party,” Jean-Pierre said.
