President Joe Biden and his White House staff gave pep talks on Wednesday during calls and meetings with allies, Democratic governors, lawmakers and campaign workers.
“Let me say this as clearly as I can, as simply and directly as I can: I’m in,” Biden said during a call with campaign staff, an official told NBC News. “I’m not leaving. I’m in this race to the end, and we’re going to win.”
The comments are part of Biden’s larger fire-fighting mission as his team works to quell Democratic panic about his re-election bid following his disastrous debate performance against former President Donald Trump last week.
Biden was joined at Wednesday’s campaign rally by Vice President Kamala Harris, who has been gaining increasing attention as a potential replacement for the president if he decides to withdraw from the race.
The president spoke with some of his closest allies and supporters on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, including former Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del.
The president has also taped interviews for two black radio programs, the Earl Ingram Show on the Civic Media Network and The Source with Andrea Lawful-Sanders on WURD Radio. Those interviews will air Thursday morning, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said during Wednesday’s press briefing.
The president is also scheduled to meet with Democratic governors from across the U.S. on Wednesday night, many of whom have been mentioned as other potential stand-ins for Biden. That meeting follows a meeting of governors on Monday, who reportedly expressed concerns about the Democratic Party’s path forward, NBC News reported.
New polls give mixed signals about the president’s current standing in the rematch against Trump.
A closely watched New York Times/Siena College poll released Wednesday found Trump leading Biden 49 percent to 41 percent among registered voters surveyed. Among likely voters, Trump led Biden by a slightly narrower margin of 6 points, though that was up 3 points from before the debate. The New York Times poll surveyed 1,532 registered voters nationwide from June 28 to July 2. The margin of error was plus or minus 2.8 percentage points for registered voters. The debate took place on June 27.
A Wall Street Journal poll also released Wednesday confirmed those findings, with Trump leading Biden 48% to 42%. That poll, which surveyed 1,500 registered voters from June 29 through July 2, had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.
A CNN poll from Tuesday also showed Trump with a 6-point lead over Biden, though that was the same as the April poll. The margin of error for that question was plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.
Polls taken so soon after the debate provide a snapshot of voters’ immediate reactions. Results could change as voters take more time to digest Biden’s underperformance.
As Biden’s campaign continues, pressure is mounting on the president to consider withdrawing from the 2024 race.
The New York Times reported Wednesday that Biden privately told an ally that he was considering staying in the race. Several outlets, including CNN and ABC News, followed with similar reports. The White House has repeatedly said those reports are false.
In television interviews on Tuesday, Pelosi and Clyburn said it was fair to question Biden’s physical and cognitive fitness, though they also redoubled their support for the president.
Also on Tuesday, House Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, became the first Democrat in Congress to officially call on Biden to withdraw from the race. Rep. Jared Golden, D-Me., later published an op-ed expressing his lack of confidence in Biden’s candidacy, titled “Donald Trump is going to win the election and democracy will be fine.”
In response, the White House and Biden’s campaign have announced a series of events for the coming week to reassure the public.
The president will give an interview to ABC News on Friday. He will also visit key battleground states Wisconsin on Friday and Pennsylvania on Sunday. In addition, the White House announced that Biden will give a press conference at the NATO summit next week.
“He’s done over 40 interviews this year alone, and we’re going to continue doing that,” Jean-Pierre said Tuesday. “They weren’t scripted. He’s done over 500 gaggles. They’re not scripted. And we want to continue doing that.”