US President Joe Biden admitted he “messed up” in last week’s debate with Donald Trump but vowed to keep fighting in the race and tried to reassure key allies.
He told a Wisconsin radio station he made a “mistake” with his faltering performance, but urged voters to judge him on his time in the White House.
On Wednesday, as reports suggested he was weighing his future, he worked to calm senior Democrats, including state governors and campaign staff.
“I am the Democratic Party nominee. No one is pushing me out. I am not leaving,” he said in a call to action for the wider campaign, a source told BBC News.
- Author, Gareth Evans, Courtney Subramanian and Kayla Epstein
- Paper, BBC News, Washington and New York
-
Mr Biden was joined on the call by Vice President Kamala Harris, who reiterated her support.
Speculation has grown over whether she could replace the president as the party’s candidate ahead of the November election.
A fundraising email sent after the call by the Biden-Harris campaign was also upbeat. “Let me say this as clearly and simply as possible: I am running,” Mr. Biden said.
There are doubts over whether the 81-year-old politician will continue with his campaign after a debate marked by verbal gaps and a weak voice.
This has raised concerns in Democratic circles about his fitness for office and his ability to win the election.
Pressure for Biden to drop out has only increased as more polls suggest his Republican rival’s lead has widened.
A New York Times poll taken after the debate, published on Wednesday, suggested Trump now holds his largest lead yet at six points.
And a separate poll published by the BBC’s US partner CBS News suggested Trump had a three-point lead over Biden in the crucial states.
Biden’s negative poll numbers have been compounded by some Democratic donors and lawmakers who have publicly called for the president to step aside.
Among them is Ramesh Kapur, an Indian-American industrialist based in Massachusetts who has been organizing fundraisers for Democrats since 1988.
“I think it’s time for him to pass the torch,” Mr Kapur told the BBC. “I know he has the drive, but you can’t fight Mother Nature.”
And two Democrats in Congress have also called for a change at the top of the party ticket. The second, Representative Raul Grijalva of Arizona, told the New York Times that it was time for Democrats to “look elsewhere.”
Despite this, the White House and Biden’s campaign have vehemently denied reports that he is actively evaluating his future and have said he is committed to defeating Trump for a second time on November 5.
The New York Times and CNN reported Wednesday that Biden told an unnamed ally that he was aware his reelection bid was in jeopardy.
He reportedly said his upcoming appearances — including an interview on ABC News and a rally Friday in Wisconsin — were extremely important to his campaign.
More about the election
A spokesman dismissed the reports as “absolutely false”, shortly before White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said reports he might quit were false.
Among the senior Democrats Mr. Biden met on Wednesday were a group of 20 state governors from across the country, including Gavin Newsom of California and Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan. Both have been touted as potential replacements if Mr. Biden were to step down.
“The president has always supported us, and we will support him,” Maryland Gov. Wes Moore told reporters after the meeting.
But Ms Harris is still considered the most likely replacement. The 59-year-old has been dogged by low approval ratings, but her support has surged among Democrats since the Biden-Trump debate.
Amid the speculation, comments made by Trump indicated he could be turning his attention to attacking Ms Harris.
In footage obtained by the Daily Beast — and shared online by Mr Trump himself — he can be seen in a golf cart pouring scorn on Mr Biden, whom he describes as “broken”. He suggests Ms Harris would be “better”, though still “pathetic”.
The vice president gave an interview to CNN shortly after the debate, appearing calm as she expressed full support for the president.
A source close to Ms Harris told BBC News she would continue to travel on behalf of the campaign.
Members of the Democratic National Committee are tasked with voting to officially make President Biden the party’s nominee at the August convention, putting him on the ballot nationwide.
One member, who spoke to other delegates and asked to remain anonymous to speak candidly about sensitive discussions, told the BBC the nomination should go to Vice President Harris if Mr Biden chose not to run.
“If we open the convention, it will cause total chaos that will hurt us in November,” they said.
Meanwhile, a Washington Post report said Biden and his team acknowledged he needs to demonstrate his fitness for office in the coming days.
He has planned trips to Wisconsin and Philadelphia later in the week and is scheduled to appear on ABC News on Friday for his first televised interview since the debate.
His full interview with Wisconsin’s Civic Media is also expected to be published Thursday.
While acknowledging that he had “screwed up” with his performance, he told the broadcaster: “It’s 90 minutes on stage. Look what I’ve done in 3.5 years.”
Adam Levy and Brajesh Upadhyay contributed to this report.
