The provided HTML code contains a news article about President Joe Biden’s decision to run for reelection despite concerns and pressure from within his party to withdraw. The article includes an image of Biden arriving at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, and a caption describing the photo.The provided HTML code contains a news article about President Joe Biden’s decision to run for reelection despite concerns and pressure from within his party to withdraw. The article includes an image of Biden arriving at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, and a caption describing the photo. The article’s text details Biden’s refusal to drop out of the race, his meeting with Vice President Kamala Harris on a Democratic National Committee call, and his outreach to top Democratic lawmakers to address their concerns. It also discusses the efforts of Biden and his advisers to calm growing concerns among his allies and emphasizes the importance of ignoring the “noise” and focusing on governing. The article mentions the mounting tensions on Capitol Hill due to Biden’s slow response to concerns and his outreach efforts to key Democrats. It also highlights the reassurance provided by Chief of Staff Jeff Zients to White House staffers about the campaign’s apparatus. The article includes a memo from campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon and Julie Chavez Rodriguez downplaying the lasting impact of the debate and Biden’s planned lunch with Vice President Harris. It also mentions a scheduled meeting between Biden and several Democratic governors at the White House. Additionally, the HTML code includes a script for loading the Facebook SDK asynchronously and crosses origin restrictions.
President Joe Biden arrives on Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, on Monday, June 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden stubbornly vowed Wednesday to run for reelection, rejecting growing pressure from within his Democratic Party to withdraw after a disastrous debate performance raised questions about his readiness. He said he would not be forced to drop out of the race.
“I’m in. I’m the leader of the Democratic Party. Nobody’s pushing me out,” Biden said, according to a top adviser who posted his comments on the social media platform X.
Biden and Harris made a surprise appearance on a Democratic National Committee call, according to three people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private call. The people said it was a pep talk, stressing the stakes of the election and revisiting Biden’s previous post-debate comments that he would get back up after being knocked down.
It was one of several attempts by the president and his top advisers to calm growing concerns among his allies on Capitol Hill and at the top of his party.
Democrats have been unhappy with the explanations of Biden’s debate performance, both from White House staff and from Biden himself. And there’s a deeper frustration among some Democrats who feel Biden should have responded to questions about his faltering debate performance much sooner and that he’s put them in an awkward position by staying in the race.
White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients urged people at an earlier all-staff meeting on Wednesday to ignore the “noise” and focus on the job of governing.
Zients acknowledged that the days since Biden’s Atlanta confrontation with Republican Donald Trump have been challenging, but the chief of staff stressed the Democratic administration’s accomplishments and track record to more than 500 White House staffers on the call. He said governing will only become more important once the campaign gets underway, particularly after the Fourth of July holiday, a White House official said.
Biden himself began making personal overtures on his own, meeting privately with top Democratic lawmakers including 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, according to a second White House official and others with knowledge of the conversations. Zients also met privately with Schumer and Clyburn earlier on Wednesday.
Tensions are mounting on Capitol Hill as Biden has been slow to reach out to key Democrats and rank-and-file members, insiders said.
Zients tried to build staffers’ confidence in Biden’s reelection apparatus, noting that the president has a “strong campaign team” and that it’s the White House’s job to focus on continuing to implement Biden’s agenda. He also told staffers that Biden has always weathered tough times, despite being written off over his decades in public office.
The chief of staff also encouraged his aides to “remain a team” and, while acknowledging the increasing political discussion, to “ignore it” and remain disciplined, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to relay Zients’ private comments. Zients also urged White House staff to ask questions and provide feedback.
Full-staff phone calls are not unusual, but Wednesday’s 15-minute check-in came as Biden and senior White House officials tried to reassure shell-shocked lawmakers, donors and other party allies amid mounting questions about whether the 81-year-old president has the competency to run for a second term.
A memo sent Wednesday by campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon and Julie Chavez Rodriguez said the election between Biden and Trump would remain close, attempting to downplay the lasting impact of the debate.
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were also scheduled to hold one of their sporadic lunches on Wednesday, and the president planned to host a number of Democratic governors at the White House in the evening.
Among the Democratic governors who planned to attend in person were Tim Walz of Minnesota, who heads 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, according to aides. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy planned to attend virtually.
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Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick and Farnoush Amiri in Washington, Adam Beam in Sacramento, California; John O’Connor in Springfield, Illinois; Mike Catalini in Trenton, New Jersey; Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis; Steve LeBlanc in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Marc Levy in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Joey Cappelletti in Lansing, Michigan; Dylan Lovan in Louisville, Kentucky; Makiya Seminera in Raleigh, North Carolina; and John D. Hanna in Topeka, Kansas, contributed to this report.
