More congressional Democrats are telling their leaders they want US President Joe Biden to step aside as the party’s White House nominee, though deep party divisions remain at the start of a pivotal week for the president and his teetering re-election campaign.
Those disagreements played out in part at a private meeting of top Democrats with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Some of those participants called for a new top to the Democratic presidential ticket after Biden’s stumbling debate with former president Donald Trump, including Jerrold Nadler and Joe Morelle of New York; Adam Smith of Washington; and Mark Takano of California, according to people familiar with the discussion.
House lawmakers return to the Capitol on Monday for the first time since the June 27 debate where discussions among Democrats about the future of Biden’s candidacy will continue.
Jeffries’ spokesman declined to comment on the meeting, which was held virtually, saying it was a private call.
Earlier on Sunday, Biden urged his supporters to stay unified at a rousing church service in critical Pennsylvania on Sunday, even as his campaign team quietly braced for growing pressure on him to abandon his re-election bid amid intensifying questions about whether he is fit for another term.
Speaking from a stage flanked by sunshine from stained-glass windows at northwest Philadelphia’s Mount Airy Church of God in Christ, the 81-year-old Biden laughed off concerns about his age, joking “I know I look 40” but “I’ve been doing this a long time”.
“I, honest to God, have never been more optimistic about America’s future if we stick together,” Biden said, speaking from a prepared text but foregoing a teleprompter.
While more Democratic lawmakers are expected to voice their concerns that Biden step aside, others are mounting efforts to stand by the president and return the focus on Trump and the danger they say he poses to the country and democracy.
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US presidential debate: Biden and Trump spar over economy, war in Ukraine
US presidential debate: Biden and Trump spar over economy, war in Ukraine
Biden himself was personally calling lawmakers over the weekend. On Saturday, he joined a call with campaign surrogates and reiterated that he has no plans to leave the race, despite a political situation that is increasingly precarious.
Instead, the president pledged to campaign harder going forward and to step up his political travel, according to two people who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.
Five Democratic lawmakers have already called on him to abandon his re-election campaign ahead of November. As Congress reconvenes, meeting in person means more chances to discuss concerns about Biden’s ability to withstand the remaining four months of the campaign – not to mention four more years in the White House – and true prospects of beating Republican presumptive nominee Trump.
Additional reporting by Associated Press
