President Joe Biden unexpectedly joined a Zoom call with campaign and Democratic National Committee staff on Wednesday, making a new attempt to preserve the viability of his embattled candidacy, according to two people who participated in the call.
Amid reports that Biden has privately admitted to allies that his candidacy is in jeopardy, the president declared he is in the race for the long haul, though he admitted that the days since last week’s debate with former president President Donald Trump be harmful, according to two people who participated in the conversation and wished to remain anonymous to discuss the sensitive issue.
“Let me say this as clearly as I can — as simply and directly as I can: I’m in … nobody’s pushing me out. I’m not running. I’m in this race to the end and we’re going to win,” Biden said during the call.
Biden’s decisiveness and determination, especially compared to how he came across during last week’s debate, were as reassuring as what he said to several attendees, who discussed the call afterward via text message.
Vice President Kamala Harris, who has become increasingly popular in recent days as Democrats take her more seriously as a possible replacement presidential nominee, sat next to Biden on the video call.
“We will not back down,” Harris said. “We will follow the example of our president. We will fight and we will win.”
The president thanked everyone who worked on his campaign and reminded them what was at stake. “There’s no one I’d rather be in this fight with than all of you,” Biden said. “So let’s join forces. Let’s get this done. You, me, the vice president. Together.”
Biden’s campaign has spent the past few days trying to convince aides, donors and allies that the president’s campaign is not doomed after his disastrous debate performance. The president joined that conversation on Wednesday amid reports of plummeting staff morale at the White House and his campaign headquarters in Wilmington. He held a phone call with top Democrats in Congress earlier on Wednesday and was also scheduled to meet with Democratic governors in the evening, some of whom traveled from across the country to attend the event in person rather than virtually.
While most Democrats still stand behind him, there are some cracks in Biden’s support. Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) called on Biden to withdraw from the race on Tuesday, and Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), a key ally of the president, said in an interview with MSNBC that he would support Harris if Biden steps aside.
Also on Wednesday afternoon, Chief of Staff Jeff Zients held a call with White House staffers, urging them to ignore the “chatter” and “noise,” according to a recording shared with POLITICO. Zients argued that “the president has been written off countless times,” but that he “has always held up.”
Some staffers had grumbled in recent days that the president’s senior team had not held such a conversation earlier. Zients said in a speech to staff that he wants to hear from everyone in the building if they have concerns or feedback.
Minutes after Biden and Zients wrapped up their conversations, The New York Times and Siena College released their long-awaited post-debate poll, showing Trump now with a 49 percent lead over Biden, compared to 43 percent among likely voters nationwide. That’s a three percentage point shift from before the debate.
