“I am running for office and no one can get me out. I’m not going to quit, but I’m going to campaign to the end and win.” With increasing pressure from Democratic Party insiders and “gold masters”, and even rumors that the incumbent U.S. president may be considering dropping out of the race, Biden declared unequivocally on the 3rd that he wants to win this year’s election. On the same day, he met with more than 20 Democratic governors at the White House, trying to prove that he has enough energy to lead the United States for another four years. According to CNN, Biden is frantically trying to save his political career through escalating “defiance”. But as more Democrats express skepticism about his ability to defeat Trump after a disastrous debate, Biden risks being overwhelmed by a rising tide of opposition. “The ominous signs facing the president are mounting”, the Associated Press said, adding that at least two Democratic lawmakers have publicly called on Biden to drop out of the race, while key allies have openly hinted that Democrats may choose someone else.
One governor didn’t show up
Biden met with more than 20 Democratic governors for more than an hour at the White House on the evening of March 3, local time, the Associated Press, ABC and other media reports. The Biden campaign released a statement after the meeting saying that Biden sought “advice” from Democratic governors at the meeting because he wants to double down on his efforts to stay in the race to defeat Trump. “All attendees reaffirmed their shared commitment to do everything possible to ensure that President Biden and Vice President Harris defeat Trump in November.”
The governors described the meeting as “candid.” Maryland Gov. Wes Moore was quoted by Reuters as saying the governors candidly conveyed negative feedback from voters about Biden’s poor performance in the debate with Trump, but said they would continue to support him. New York Gov. Cathy Hochul said she felt confident after the meeting that all governors had pledged to support Biden and that “the president will win.” California Gov. Newsom said President Biden said at the meeting that he was “fully committed” to the presidential campaign.
Wisconsin’s Democratic governor, Tony Evers, is not attending, according to ABC. Evers’ spokesman, Kudabak, said on social media X that Evers “is not attending because he is focused on winning Wisconsin.” “He (Evers) endorses President Biden and looks forward to campaigning with the president on Friday”, Kudabak said.
One problem Biden faces, CNN analyzed, is that key Democratic figures who still support the president have made it clear that he must do more to reshape the public’s perception of his competence and haven’t ruled out the possibility of him dropping out of the race. “We’re at a crossroads right now and trust that he will make the right decision.” Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin said.
The New York Times says Biden is scheduled to be interviewed on ABC on the 5th, and with campaign events still to come in both Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, those appearances have to go well. Two more poor performances like the one in last week’s televised debate would put him in a different position, CNN said, adding that the much-anticipated interview would be Biden’s first TV interview since his poor showing in last week’s presidential debate. Given that Biden will need to come up with a tactful and powerful performance to change people’s impressions, this looks more challenging than the TV debate.
Another crack in the support base
The New York Times broke the story on July 3rd that Biden told his key allies that he knew the next few days were critical and understood that he might not be able to save his candidacy if he could not convince voters that he was up to the job after last week’s dismal debate performance. In response to the New York Times’ revelations, White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates said on social media X, “If the New York Times would have given us more than seven minutes to comment, we would have told them that the claims were absolutely false”. White House press secretary Carina Jean-Pierre also said at a press conference on March 3 that Biden would “absolutely not” consider dropping out of the race.
Polls show that Biden’s odds of beating Trump have been falling since the debate. A Wall Street Journal poll found that Trump’s approval rating had risen by 1 percentage point, with Biden at 48 percent and 42 percent, respectively. Despite Biden’s efforts to use a variety of tactics to salvage his faltering reelection, he faces a dire situation in which support for him on Capitol Hill and from other allies is rapidly dwindling, according to the Associated Press.
Rep. Raul Grijalva, an Arizona Democrat, told the New York Times that while he would support Biden as long as he was a candidate, “this is an opportunity to look at other options” and that what Biden “needs to do is to take on the responsibility of keeping this office, and part of that responsibility part of that is to get out of this race.” This is the second congressional Democrat to publicly call on Biden to drop out of the race, Reuters said. Earlier, Texas Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett said on the 2nd that he hoped Biden would “make the painful and difficult decision to withdraw.”
Reed Hastings, a major Democratic donor and co-founder of streaming platform Netflix, also called on the president to drop out of the race. According to the latest news of the New York Times, he said in a statement, “Biden needs to step aside and allow a dynamic Democratic leader to defeat Trump so we can remain safe and prosperous.” Hastings’ public statement represents another crack in Biden’s support base, according to the report.
Harris: Will follow the president
The Associated Press reported that Rep. Jim Clyburn, a longtime friend of Biden’s, said that if Biden dropped out of the race, he would support a “small primary” before the Democratic National Convention in August, in which Vice President Harris, Democratic governors and others could compete. According to the report, some believe that Harris is the best candidate to replace Biden if he withdraws. While California Gov. Newsom and Michigan Gov. Whitmer remain viable options, for some insiders, Harris is seen as the best candidate who can quickly unite the party and avoid confusion and division at the convention. The Washington Post, citing sources familiar with the matter, revealed that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has signaled to other lawmakers that Harris would be the best candidate to lead the race if Biden opts out.
In a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on the 2nd, Harris trailed Trump by 1 point, 42 percent to 43 percent, a gap well within the poll’s 3.5-point margin of error, Reuters said. Statistically, that performance is as strong as Biden’s. Several Democratic strategists have said that abandoning the first black female vice president in favor of another candidate would lead to strong opposition from black and female voters, who are key to any victory.
Harris, however, did not say anything about “taking over” from Biden. “Vice President Harris looks forward to serving a second term alongside President Biden.” Her office issued a statement. American Political News Network on the 3rd, citing sources, Harris and Biden that day with the campaign team and the Democratic National Committee staff of the online meeting, said: “We will not back down, we will follow the president. We will fight and we will win.”
