Amid calls for him to step down as the Democratic presidential nominee after his disastrous performance in the debate against former President Donald Trump a week ago, President Joe Biden has reportedly been asking allies what he can do to shore up support for him to continue with his re-election bid.
According to The Wall Street Journal, in the two days prior to Independence Day, Biden has contacted numerous allies in Congress to persuade them that he should withdraw from the nomination. Additionally, on Wednesday evening Biden met with roughly two dozen Democratic governors. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said, “We were honest about the feedback that we were getting. We were honest about the concerns that we’re hearing,” adding, “We said we would stand with him.”
On Wednesday, Biden reportedly told his campaign staff, “Let me say this as clearly as I possibly can—and as simply and straightforward as I can. I am running. I’m the nominee of the Democratic Party. No one’s pushing me out. I’m not leaving.”
Yet numerous polls show Trump’s lead over Biden soared to six percentage points in the wake of their debate.
Delaware Democrat Sen. Chris Coons said that when he spoke to Biden on Tuesday, Biden asked him, “How do you rebuild confidence?” Coons said he advised Biden to conduct an unscripted event such as a town hall “where the average American can just see his engagement and agility and capacity.”
“The campaign has come off as extremely arrogant in the way it has responded to legitimate questions about President Biden’s capacity as a candidate. Calling us bed-wetters or Davos Democrats is out of bounds,” Rep. Scott Peters (D-CA) asserted, adding, “This campaign damn well better tell us how they expect to win it—if they don’t tell me that this week, call me back next week.”
A few Democrat House members have called for Biden to step down, including Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas and Rep. Raúl Grijalva of Arizona.
Former Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH), irritated that Biden supporters decided to “dig in and ask everybody to pretend like we didn’t see what we saw,” is pushing the idea of Biden stepping down so he can be replaced by Vice President Kamala Harris. He says, “We have a great candidate. She’s done a phenomenal job. I think she’d be attractive to a lot of working-class people in the middle-class Midwest once they get to know her.”