Biden has vowed to be “committed” to the 2024 campaign, but the campaign’s national co-chair said the 81-year-old still wants “input” from his colleagues.
Sen. Chris Coons (D-Delaware), a longtime Biden ally who represents the president’s home state, repeatedly refused Thursday to say the president was ready to give up the race.
“In my conversations with the president, he has asked for my input,” Coons told CNN.
“He has asked all of us who speak to him regularly for advice, counsel, and input on the polls and the opinions of our colleagues, but he has told all Democrats in writing that he intends to continue this campaign,” he added.
In a letter to Democratic lawmakers last week, Biden declared that he was “firmly committed to remaining in this race, fighting to the end, and defeating Donald Trump.”
Biden added: “I wouldn’t run again if I didn’t believe absolutely I was the best person to beat Donald Trump in 2024.”
Despite that assertion, prominent Democrats, perturbed by Trump’s apparent struggle to maintain his train of thought during last month’s debate, are growing in public and private calls for him to step aside.
At least 21 Democratic lawmakers have come forward so far and publicly called on him to resign.
Coons, 60, played down whether Biden was still seriously considering whether to continue in the campaign.
“I think he takes very seriously the opinions of his trusted advisers and people he’s worked with, and I won’t go into too much detail beyond that,” Coons said. “I think he deserves some respect for being able to look back on this moment.”
The Delaware senator was asked at least three times whether Biden was still considering dropping out of the race and said he shouldn’t comment “without direct knowledge.”
Coons acknowledged that he had not spoken to Biden in recent days and argued that Biden is the toughest Democrat to challenge Trump.
“What you’re hearing from a lot of Democrats is a concern that Donald Trump should not be back in the White House,” he said.
“This unites all Democrats. Not just Democrats, but Donald Trump’s own vice president, secretary of defense, chief of staff, national security adviser, all key people who worked closely with Donald Trump, believe that Trump should not be re-elected,” he continued.
On the same day, Quentin Fulks, chief deputy campaign manager for the Biden-Harris campaign, stressed to reporters that the president had no plans to withdraw from the race.
“The president has said this many times, he’s going to continue this campaign,” he said. “I speak to the president every day in some capacity, and he usually fact-checks me on statistics that I get wrong.”
On Wednesday, ABC News report It was revealed over the weekend that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) had privately urged Biden to resign.
A spokesman for Schumer did not explicitly deny the reports, instead calling them “unfounded speculation.”
Additionally, additional reports suggest that former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) have privately expressed doubts about Biden’s ability to win.
In most cases, spokespeople have not explicitly denied these reports, but have also not confirmed them.
Ironically, amid the insurrection, Biden is garnering some support from the left wing of his party.
“It is embarrassing beyond words that there are so many leaks about statements made by Democratic leaders and no one is willing to confirm or deny them,” Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) wrote on X.
“This is a lack of leadership and brings the entire Democratic Party into disrepute. Whatever this chaos leads to, it cannot undo the damage that has already been done. May God help us all,” she added.
