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Joe Biden will not pull out of the US presidential race, his spokeswoman, Karine Jean-Pierre said on Thursday, following the heightened pressure and call by some state actors, calling for his withdrawal from the race.
The move became imperative following his disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump.
Panic has gripped his Democratic Party in the wake of last week’s TV debate, and internal rumblings about finding a replacement candidate before November’s election have been amplified by polls showing Trump extending his lead.
The New York Times and CNN reported that Biden, 81, had acknowledged to a key ally that his reelection bid was on the line if he failed to quickly reassure the public that he was still up to the job.
White House spokeswoman Jean-Pierre rejected those reports outright, insisting Biden has absolutely no intention of withdrawing.
According to her: “The president is clear-eyed and he is staying in the race."
Biden told a call with campaign and party staffers that he is going nowhere.
“I’m in this race to the end and we’re going to win because when Democrats unite, we will always win. Just as we beat Donald Trump in 2020, we’re going to beat him again in 2024,” he said, according to a source close to the campaign.
He repeated that message in an emergency meeting with Democratic governors, who pledged their continued support.
Maryland Governor Wes Moore, seen as a rising star and potential future presidential candidate, said in New York that, “As the president continued to tell us, and show us, that he was all in… we said that we would stand with him. Biden is fit to serve.”
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who also attended the meeting at the White House said on social media platform X that “he is in it to win it and I support him.”
Biden has admitted he performed poorly in the debate, and was blunt in a radio interview recorded on Wednesday with Wisconsin’s Civic Media.
“I screwed up. I made a mistake. That’s 90 minutes on stage. Look at what I’ve done in 3.5 years,” he said.
The Biden campaign has been desperate to reassure Democratic donors and voters that the president’s performance against Trump was a one-off.
AFP
