Biden Vows Return To Campaign Trail Despite Calls To Quit

(Bloomberg) -- President Joe Biden said he would resume campaigning next week, despite mounting criticism from Democratic allies who have begun viewing his exit from the race as an inevitability.

“I look forward to getting back on the campaign trail next week to continue exposing the threat of Donald Trump’s Project 2025 agenda while making the case for my own record and the vision that I have for America,” Biden, who is recovering from Covid-19 at his Delaware beach home, said in a statement Friday.

The statement was the latest indication that Biden remains determined to stay in the race, despite prominent party leaders urging him to reconsider. Vice President Kamala Harris, who is seen as the most likely to replace Biden atop the Democratic ticket, echoed the sentiment in a call with top party donors, extolling Biden’s virtues.

“It is something I feel strongly you should all hear and should take with you when you leave, and tell your friends too: We are going to win this election,” Harris said.

Paired with a rare television appearance by campaign chairwoman Jennifer O’Malley Dillon, who told MSNBC the president was “absolutely” determined to stay in the race and “more committed than ever,” the signal from the Wilmington, Delaware, headquarters clearly intended to convey Biden’s determination.

But few Democrats outside Biden’s employ believe his effort remains viable. In an all-hands meeting on Friday, senior officials on the campaign acknowledged the difficulty of combating a constant barrage of speculation and media reporting, according to a person familiar with the conversation, while also arguing that the president’s reservoir of support was deeper than it would appear on cable news.

Still, additional lawmaker defections and new reporting — including NBC News’s account of Biden family members discussing a possible exit plan — continued to rock the campaign. The extent to which the unprecedented pressure campaign from party elders and donors had rattled Biden’s reelection effort was undeniable, drawing in even those closest to the president.

Time for a graceful exit is running short. 

Trump accepted the Republican nomination to great fanfare Thursday night in Milwaukee, unifying his party as he recalled his narrow escape from an assassin’s bullet. But the meandering address, dotted with references to fictional serial killer Hannibal Lecter, his positive relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and an attack on union leadership, only underscored to many Democrats how the election should be winnable.

As the winner of the Democratic primary, the decision is indeed Biden’s alone to make. The president, 81, could ultimately insist on waging a defiant, solitary final campaign in hopes of proving everyone wrong.

The uncertainty has already left Democrats in a lurch. 

Party leaders are eager to take the fight to Trump, but Democrats lose the opportunity to go on the offensive each day that the Biden melodrama dominates the national conversation. A poll released Thursday by CBS News showed Trump with a majority — 52% — of likely voters.

“We’re moving toward the convention. There has to be decisions made,” said Amy Dacey, former chief executive officer of the Democratic National Committee. 

Since Biden’s debate performance three weeks ago set off panic among his fellow party members, the belief in Washington has been that only senior leaders, like Barack Obama or Nancy Pelosi, could force him to withdraw. In recent days, they have taken steps to do just that. 

The Washington Post reported on Thursday that Obama has told allies that Biden’s path to victory is greatly diminished and that he needs to seriously consider if his campaign remains viable. 

Pelosi told Biden in a private conversation recently that polls show he cannot beat Trump and that his continued candidacy could rob Democrats of the chance to win back the House in November, CNN reported Thursday. Those concerns echoed ones raised in closed—door meetings with Biden by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. 

The steady flow of leaks belies a frustration in many corners of the party with the president’s entrenchment. The fact that none of the lawmakers explicitly denied their role only fanned speculation leaders were coordinating the defenestration behind closed doors. 

It’s also opened the door for even more prominent Democrats to publicly pressure Biden to drop out. Late Thursday, Jon Tester — the Montana Democrat who is among the most vulnerable senators this cycle — issued a statement calling for the president to step aside. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, who along with Tester represents a state that Trump won easily twice, joined the chorus on Friday along with Martin Heinrich of New Mexico.

And six more Democratic House members called for Biden to withdraw in statements issued Friday, bringing the number of lawmakers publicly defecting to more than two dozen. 

Resistance from Schumer and Jeffries helped prompt Democrats to hold off on formally nominating Biden this month in a virtual roll call, with party officials saying there will be no delegate votes before Aug. 1. That buys Democrats skeptical of Biden more time to carry out their pressure campaign, but it also prolongs the infighting over his candidacy.

Still, Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison said Friday the party hoped to push ahead with plans to formalize the nomination before Aug. 7. While he and other Democratic officials said the decision was rooted in an effort to preempt Republican legal challenges, the move also prevents any sort of floor fight from coalescing at the convention.

“We can look forward to nominating our president through a virtual roll call and celebrating with fanfare together in Chicago alongside all of our delegates who are supporting the Biden-Harris ticket,” Harrison said.

The campaign is continuing to plan fundraisers, a sign that some donors are still willing to cut checks for the president.

Biden is scheduled to meet with contributors in California this coming Friday and Saturday, while Harris is on tap to attend a fundraiser featuring musical performances from James Taylor, Yo-Yo Ma and Emanuel Ax in Massachusetts, according to a schedule obtained by Bloomberg News. Later this month, first lady Jill Biden is slated for a fundraising swing through New England.

Loyalists were also encouraged by news that the president’s Covid symptoms had “improved meaningfully,” according to a note released by the White House physician.

Still, there were signs that the president has become open to the possibility of being replaced on the ballot. ABC reported that Biden asked for polling on how Harris would perform. Chris Coons, a Democratic senator from Biden’s home state of Delaware, said Biden was weighing “who is the best candidate to win in November” in a panel discussion at the Aspen Security Forum.

The president said in an interview this week with BET News he would consider ending his campaign or handing over power to Harris if he is reelected, if he had a medical condition — though he discounted the possibility of that occurring. 

The vice president, who would very likely be Biden’s choice to replace him, has continued on with a full slate of events while the president remains sidelined with Covid. She plans to attend a fundraiser on Saturday and travel to Milwaukee, the site of the Republican convention, early next week, and has offered no public indication that she’s vying to take over the campaign.

“We know which candidate in this election puts the American people first: Our president, Joe Biden,” she told donors on the call Friday, according to a listener on the call who shared the remarks on the condition of anonymity.

--With assistance from Skylar Woodhouse, Riley Griffin, Josh Wingrove, Erik Wasson, Christian Hall, Jenny Leonard, Akayla Gardner and Hadriana Lowenkron.

(Updates with Sherrod Brown in 18th paragraph.)

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