The debate that began after US President Joe Biden’s poor performance in the televised debate against Donald Trump, his rival in the November election, is growing.
Amid growing calls for him to withdraw from the race, Biden held a meeting with his campaign team, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Democratic governors.
According to Politico, the president, who met with the DNC and his campaign team via Zoom, said he was in the race for the long haul, despite reports that he had privately admitted to allies that his candidacy was shaky.
He also acknowledged that the days since his debate with former President Donald Trump last week had been “damaging,” according to two people present at the meeting who requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive topic.
Biden said in the Zoom interview: “Let me say this as clearly as I can, as simply as I can: I am staying. Nobody is pushing me out. I am not leaving. I am in this race to the end and we are going to win,” he said.
Vice President Kamala Harris, who has recently come to the fore as Democrats focus on her as a possible running mate, sat next to Biden on the video call.
Harris said in the meeting: “We will not back down. We will follow the path of our president. We will fight and we will win,” Harris said.
The President thanked everyone who worked on his campaign and reminded them of what was at stake. Biden said: “There is no one I would rather be with in this fight than all of you. So let’s link arms. Let’s finish this job. You, me, the vice president. Together,” he said.
Biden also called congressional Democratic leaders earlier on Wednesday and met with Democratic governors in the evening. Some of the governors travelled from across the country to attend the meeting in person, rather than virtually.
Governors endorse Biden
Democratic governors threw their support behind Joe Biden after talks at the White House, despite a series of poor polls for the president and calls from some members of Congress for him to withdraw from the US presidential race.
Biden, who met with more than 20 influential governors, tried to convince them that he was committed to his re-election campaign.
Three governors emerged from the White House insisting that they had full confidence in the president. “The governors are behind him,” said Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, adding that Biden was “fit for the job”.
“The president has continued to tell us and show us everything,” said Maryland Governor Wes Moore, while New York Governor Kathy Hochul added: “President Joe Biden is in this to win.”
Others at the meeting included Gavin Newsom of California, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and JB Pritzker of Illinois.
Newsom later posted on X: “I heard four words from the President tonight: he’s fully on board. And so am I. Joe Biden has our support. Now it’s his turn,” he said.
Among the leaked information is that Biden told the governors he met with that he had “had a checkup”.
Congressional Democrats’ letter of withdrawal
According to a report in the Financial Times (FT), a group of moderate Democratic House members with a focus on national security have drafted a letter calling on Biden to withdraw from the race.
Bloomberg first reported that dozens of Democratic members of Congress were privately considering signing a letter urging Biden to step aside.
At the same time, Arizona Democratic Congressman Raúl Grijalva on Wednesday became the second member of the House of Representatives to publicly call for Biden to suspend his re-election bid.
Grijalva told the New York Times, “This is an opportunity to look elsewhere. What [Biden] needs to do is take responsibility … part of that responsibility is to withdraw from the race,” Grijalva told the New York Times.
Democratic Congressman Seth Moulton of Massachusetts also issued his own statement, saying he had “serious concerns” about Biden’s ability to defeat Trump.
Some donors have also given up on Biden
As the cauldron within the Democratic Party continues to boil, some of Biden’s campaign donors have begun to speak out.
Damon Lindelof, who has been a major donor to Democrats for years, including the campaigns of Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden, became the first high-profile donor to raise a kettle against Biden.
“I have been a lifelong Democrat and I love my complex, glorious country. I’m not writing this anonymously because I’m asking others in positions of influence to do the same. I don’t know if what I have to say matters, but I know what my eyes, ears and heart tell me. I’ve been asleep at the wheel, and it’s time to wake up,” Lindelof said.
According to Axios, “concerned Democratic donors” grilled Biden campaign officials in a Zoom call on Monday, pressing Biden’s team on how to deal with new concerns about his fitness for office.
According to Axios, the donors’ questions revealed deep doubts within the Democratic Party about whether Biden has the stamina, skill and substance to go head-to-head with former President Trump over the next four months, defeat him on November 5 and serve another four-year term.
