WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Thursday began a crucial phase of his efforts to salvage his troubled campaign, but it is becoming increasingly clear that he may have only days to make a convincing case for his fitness for office before Democratic support for him dries up completely.
Following Biden’s disastrous performance in last week’s debate against Republican Donald Trump, some donors have postponed or canceled upcoming fundraisers, according to a person familiar with the plans who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Biden told a crowd gathered for a Fourth of July barbecue on the South Lawn of the White House on Thursday.
At a meeting with Democratic governors on Wednesday night, Biden acknowledged that he needs more sleep and needs to limit evening events so he can go to bed earlier and be rested for the job, according to three people familiar with the meeting who also spoke on condition of anonymity. One of the people said the president joked that his health was fine, only his brain was having problems.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, who attended the meeting, was asked Thursday about the idea that Biden wanted to restrict events after 8 p.m. He responded: “He did that with a smile on his face. It was more of a rhetorical framework of just being fit and rested.”
Newsom, who campaigned for Biden in western Michigan, added: “I like it when a president recognizes that he is only human.”
In an interview with a Wisconsin radio station broadcast Thursday, Biden argued that far more than just his own political future was at stake: “There’s really a lot at stake. I know you know that. Democracy, freedom … our economy, everything is at stake.”
The interview, recorded Wednesday on the Civic Media Radio Network’s Earl Ingram Show, was part of a media and public events offensive that the Democratic president and his staff described as a defining moment.
At the Fourth of July barbecue, Biden officially welcomed military families from a lectern, but then walked over to briefly greet the crowd in person. Suddenly, he grabbed a microphone, stood in the middle of the lawn, and explained that thousands of people were waiting to get to the party and that he had to go back inside because the grounds were cordoned off for the duration of his stay there.
“Keep fighting!” shouted one supporter.
“You got me, man,” Biden replied.
He also made a fleeting reference to Trump, who in 2018 visited a World War I cemetery in France that Biden had recently visited.
The president is scheduled to campaign in Wisconsin on Friday and will be available for an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, which will be broadcast as a special prime-time program that same evening.
He plans to be in Philadelphia on Sunday and hold a lengthy press conference during the NATO summit in Washington next week.
It’s not a given that his campaign will last that long unless he delivers a convincing performance on ABC. Discussions that were once held in whispers about who should take his place when he leaves are growing louder.
At this time, Biden is not ready to step down and has expressed this in conversations with Democratic governors, close allies and members of his campaign team.
But time is running out for a possible change. The Democratic National Committee announced weeks ago that it would hold a virtual vote on the formal nomination before the party convention, which begins on August 19.
“I am proud to run for re-election as a president who has made and kept his promises,” Biden said in the radio interview.
“I had a bad night. A bad night. I blew it,” he said of the debate, in which he gave halting and confused answers.
“But 90 minutes on stage doesn’t change what I’ve accomplished for three and a half years,” he said in another interview with WURD Radio in the Philadelphia area.
In his private discussions, Biden focused on how to reverse the tide of his rocky debate and emphasized how crucial this year’s presidential election would be.
Asked what would happen if his course-correcting efforts were unsuccessful, Biden stressed in a phone call that he knew how critical the campaign was and that the country was his top priority, according to a person who spoke directly with the president. The person was granted anonymity to discuss private conversations.
Biden’s meeting with Democratic governors on Wednesday night lasted over an hour and drew more than 20 of them, some in person and some virtually. Afterward, they described the conversation as “candid” and said they stood behind Biden despite concerns about a Trump victory in November. Details of Biden’s comments about getting more sleep were first reported by The New York Times.
During that meeting, Biden told politicians he had been examined by his doctor after his performance at the debate, according to two people familiar with the conversations who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the private conversation. A few hours earlier, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre had said Biden had not been examined by his doctor.
The White House has attributed Biden’s debate performance, during which he appeared pale and his raspy voice broke at times, to a frigid. Biden also said he suffered from jet lag after two consecutive trips abroad that ended 12 days earlier.
Biden’s staff has resisted repeated requests to release more detailed medical records for the 81-year-old president, who was declared fit for duty by his doctor after his last full physical in February.
Two Democratic lawmakers have publicly called on Biden to drop out of the race. Most Democratic lawmakers, however, are waiting and hoping to get a better picture of the situation through fresh polls and the television interview. This is what Democratic lawmakers say, who asked to remain anonymous so they can speak openly about the president.
Some have suggested Vice President Kamala Harris is the favorite to succeed Biden if he steps down. Those involved in private discussions acknowledge that Newsom of California and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan remain viable alternatives. But some insiders see Harris as the best prospect for quickly unifying the party and avoiding a disordered and divisive convention fight.
Newsom was asked directly if he would support Harris if Biden dropped out. He said, “I don’t even like playing hypotheticals.”
One video showed Trump declaring Harris his fresh rival and saying, “She’s so pathetic.” It is unclear when he made the remark; it was posted on his social media account.
Later Thursday, Trump called for a second debate, “but this time with no holds barred… with just the two of us on the stage.”
Even though other Democratic allies have remained still since the debate, private frustration is growing over the Biden team’s response at a crucial moment in the campaign – particularly over Biden’s waiting several days to engage in direct damage control with senior members of his own party.
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Associated Press writers Joey Cappelletti in South Haven, Michigan, and Lisa Mascaro and Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.
