President Joe Biden is “absolutely not” considering withdrawing from the 2024 presidential run, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday.
The White House has insisted that Biden will run for a second term, despite demands from Democrats, former staffers, and allies to step down.
According to a New York Times report published Wednesday morning, Biden discussed the prospect of stepping out of the race with confidants.
However, when asked during the conference if Biden would withdraw from the race, Jean-Pierre sounded defiant.
“Absolutely not,” she replied. “And you heard, I think, I believe directly from the campaign as well.”
Jean-Pierre insisted that the president’s bad debate performance was due to “a cold” and repeated his own explanation from Tuesday night, claiming that he was still suffering from “jet lag” from his trip to Europe for the G-7 conference.
VISIT OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL“It was not his best night. He understands that it is fair for people to ask that question, but we cannot forget his record and what he’s been able to do. We cannot forget how he has been able to deliver for the American people for almost four years,” she said. “That matters too. And he has the most historic record, the most in modern politics, and that should matter.”
Jean-Pierre stated that Biden “wants to continue to do that work.”
“A lot of what’s on his agenda is very much popular with the majority of the American people, whether it is continuing to build a strong economic — economic policies — he’s done that, creating new jobs — he’s done that — 15 million jobs. He wants to work on that and continue to do that. And so he wants to continue to deliver, expanding health care — all of these things he believes is important,” she said. “He wants to make sure that people do not forget about the record that he has been able to lay out on behalf of the American people.”
Jean-Pierre reiterated that the debate was simply “a bad night.”
“It was not his best night. He had a cold. He was jetlagged. You heard directly from the president about this,” she explained. “And when we get knocked out, when he gets knocked down, he gets right back up.”
She continued, “That’s what I would focus on. The president continues to be very steady and continuing to work for the American people.”
Jean-Pierre said Wednesday that Biden “is staying in the race.”
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Biden said, “I am running. I am the leader of the Democratic Party. No one is pushing me out.”
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris reportedly made a surprise appearance on a Democratic National Committee call, attempting to quell turmoil among party members following the debate.
In an all-staff meeting on Wednesday, White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients told everyone to forget about it and get back to work running the government.
Jean-Pierre verified Zients’ efforts, stating that he told White House staffers that the previous several days had been challenging.
Biden allegedly conducted outreach on his own, speaking with prominent Democratic senators such as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, Delaware Sen. Chris Coons, and South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn.
But the chief of staff also told White House workers to ignore criticism and keep their attention on running the government.
Jean-Pierre was also questioned about Biden’s comments in 2020, in which he described himself as a transition candidate who intended to serve as a bridge to the next generation of Democratic leaders.
She reacted by stating that Vice President Kamala Harris is “the future of the party.”
“His statement stands. I mean, one of the reason why he picked the vice president, President Kamala Harris, is because she is indeed the future of the party,” Jean-Pierre said, adding that Biden is “very proud to have partnered with her and continue to partner with her, and delivering an unprecedented record for the American people.”
“And I think he’s going to continue, certainly to do that. They’re going to do that as partners. Like I said, I just saw them before walking into the briefing room. We they stopped by to talk to me and my team, and they’re ready to go. They’re ready to continue. So the transition would happen in eight years,” she explained. “I mean — I’m not going to get into, speculate from here. But you ask me if his remarks and statement still stands. Yes, it still does.”
Meanwhile, Biden plans to convene a meeting with Democratic governors on Wednesday night.
According to their aides, Democratic governors Tim Walz of Minnesota, who leads the Democratic Governors Association, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, Maura Healey of Massachusetts, Daniel McKee of Rhode Island, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Andy Beshear of Kentucky, and Gavin Newsom of California planned to attend in person. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy planned to attend virtually.
A USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll released this week indicated that more than four in ten Democrats want the Democratic Party to intervene and replace Biden as the nominee. Overall, 54% of those polled said that Biden should drop out.
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