Asked Tuesday about the party’s recent onslaught to unite support after its disastrous debate performance late last month, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declared that President Joe Biden is “in great form.”
Reporters at the White House press conference on Tuesday. I got it. “Biden has taken a very aggressive stance over the last 24 hours,” he said, including letters to House Democrats, calls with donors and the Congressional Black Caucus and an appearance on MSNBC. Good morning Joe.
KJP: “[Biden] He’s primed, he’s motivated, he’s ready to go, and he wants to go out there and show he’s still got work to do.” pic.twitter.com/amu5mdAqYw
— Conservative War Machine (@WarMachineRR) July 9, 2024
“Was it his decision to intensify that activity?” she asked Jean-Pierre.
“Yes, he is,” the spokesman responded. “He’s ready. He’s fired up. He’s ready to go, and he wants to go out and continue to show that there’s still work to be done. There are much, much more important issues to solve for the American people.”
“And he wants to get out there. He’s always done that. I mean, for the last two and a half, three and a half years, he’s been looking forward to getting out there and speaking directly to the American people,” she added.
She added that Biden would like to “speak more with the press” and that the White House would “continue to create opportunities for that.”
Jean-Pierre’s comments came as Biden has received growing support from leading Democrats in recent days and his odds of becoming the nominee have soared in betting markets.
From risky senators running in Republican states to safe House Democrats in heavily Democratic districts, politicians on the left have either refused to abandon Biden or voiced their support for him in recent days.
Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Bob Casey (D-Pennsylvania) and Jon Tester (D-Montana) all refused to back down on the candidate on Monday, while other House Squad members, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), vocally endorsed Biden. The chairs of the Congressional Black and Hispanic Caucus also reaffirmed their support for Biden on Monday.
This comes despite some Democratic politicians reportedly voicing their concerns privately or anonymously to reporters.
PolyMarket had backed Vice President Kamala Harris over Biden at 49% to 38% odds last week, but the president is now clearly the odds-on favorite again on the betting platform, Breitbart News noted. As of Tuesday afternoon, PolyMarket Gave Biden has a 71% chance of being the nominee, while Harris has an 18% chance of being the nominee.
The move comes as efforts to replace Biden appear to have stalled significantly as the Democratic National Convention in Chicago approaches in August.
“As someone who was hoping for a resolution and as someone who is disappointed that it’s over, believe me, it’s over,” one Democratic lawmaker told Axios congressional reporter Andrew Solender on Monday. The lawmaker added that “the dam is holding.”
