US President Joe Biden has quelled rumours that he may be giving up his bid for reelection. He told his staff members, “No one is pushing me out. I’m not leaving. I’m in this race to the end and we’re going to win.”
His press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre made the announcement on July 3 saying that the president is not dropping out even though he admits to his dire performance in the first debate of the campaign against Donald Trump.
Jean Pierre blamed his poor performance on the fact that he had a cold which was brought on by a busy schedule of foreign travel.
According to a Siena College/NYT poll Trump has widened his lead on Biden with a 6-point advantage, 49-43% over Biden among voters. Only 49% of Democrats say he should remain the nominee.
Governors meet Biden
Democratic governors also met with President Joe Biden with nine of them attending the meeting in person and have expressed their support firmly.
California governor Gavin Newsom said, “I heard three words from the President – he’s all in. And so am I. Joe Biden’s had our back. Now it’s time to have his.”
Minnesota governor Tim Waltz said he believes Joe Biden is fit for office and their meeting and the conversation they had was “open and honest”.
Waltz is the chair of the Democratic Governors Association and he said that what they [the governors] had seen today was a guy who believed he could beat Donald Trump the first time and he did.
Democrats in the House and Senate races say what will happen in the next few days and weeks will depend on Biden’s poll showing. The White House and the campaign hope that after the Fourth of July holiday things will pick up. To date all senior Democrats have been supporting him and no one has asked him to step down.
However donors and fundraisers aren’t as confident. Large donations that were expected have been withheld since the debate. Donors like Democracy Alliance, American Bridge and the Strategic Victory Fund have all put things on hold lately though they have not made any formal gesture asking Biden to drop out of the race.
One business executive who did a fundraiser for the Chicago convention spoke about how Biden’s team refused to let him talk to him.
“I told them my donors don’t care about a photo. They want to talk to him. The Biden people just wouldn’t let them. It was clear they were managing him in a way I’ve never experienced before. Donors expect to get to talk to the president if you’re writing a big check and having an event with him.”
How the current situation will affect donors in relation to fundraising for the Biden campaign and if their confidence in him will be restored remains to be seen in the coming days.