Washington.– President Biden told key allies he realizes the next few days are crucial and understands he may not be able to salvage his candidacy if he fails to convince voters he is fit for the job after a disastrous performance in last week’s debate.
According to two allies who spoke with him, Biden stressed that he remains deeply committed to fighting for reelection, even though he understands that his viability as a candidate is in jeopardy.
The president sought to project confidence on a call with his campaign staff Wednesday, even as White House officials sought to calm nerves within the Biden administration.
“Nobody is pressuring me, and I’m not going to walk away,” Biden said on the call.
Vice President Kamala Harris was also present on the conference call and commented:
“We have not backed down. We will continue to support our president. We will fight and we will win.”
Although Biden allies said the president has privately acknowledged that his upcoming appearances leading up to the July Fourth holiday weekend must go well, particularly an interview scheduled for Friday with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos and campaign stops in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
“He knows that if we have two more events like that, we’ll be somewhere else this weekend,” one ally said, referring to Biden’s poor performance in the debate.
The accounts of his conversations with allies are the first public indication that the president is seriously considering whether he can recover from a devastating debate performance in Atlanta on Thursday.
A new poll by The New York Times and Siena College showed former President Donald J. Trump leading Biden 49 percent to 43 percent among likely voters nationwide, a three-point shift toward the Republican from a week before the debate.
The six-point deficit underscores the growing challenges facing the campaign and could make it harder to hold on, though some insiders are concerned it could get worse.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean Pierre denied that Biden will withdraw from the race.
“That is absolutely false.” Although he referred to Harris, who is receiving a wave of support among Democrats, as “the future of the party.”
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