Jill Biden, the first lady, echoed President Biden’s stance on Monday when she said the discussion was over that he would remain in the presidential race.
As Mr. Biden faced his own party in Washington and called into his favorite television show, MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” to reiterate that he would stay in the race, Dr. Biden said the same thing during a daylong campaign in three states: North Carolina, Florida and Georgia.
“Despite all the talk about this race, Joe has made it clear that he is all in,” Dr. Biden told a crowd at a brewery in Wilmington, N.C. “That’s the decision he’s made, and just as he’s always supported my career, I’m all in, too. I know you are too, or you wouldn’t be here today. And with four more years to go, Joe will continue to fight for you.”
Their stops were officially about bolstering support for her husband among military families and linking him to Joining Forces, an initiative Dr. Biden has championed since she was second lady in the Obama administration. But the whirlwind trip was as much about reassuring her husband’s rattled supporters that both Bidens were still campaigning to win.
Madeline Schildwachter, a 38-year-old grant writer whose husband deployed on four combat tours while in the Marines, walked out of the event with her hand on her chest and saying out loud to herself, “That was good, we’re OK.”
Ms. Schildwachter, who is a Biden supporter but not a campaign volunteer, said she attended the first lady’s event just to see for herself whether the Bidens were still in the race.
“I think everyone needed a little boost of motivation,” she said. “So much is filtered through the lens of the media, but I feel like Jill’s energy is different in person. You can feel what she means.”
At their next stop, in Tampa, Florida, voters said they were encouraged to see the first lady but said they wanted Mr. Biden to be the one to make the case directly to them. Madison Janner, a 20-year-old who lives in St. Petersburg, Florida, said she was unsure whether she would vote for Mr. Biden after the debate.
“Honestly, that’s part of the reason I came here,” she said. “I really feel like I need some reassurance right now. I’m a registered Democrat, and personally I thought I would vote for Biden, but I don’t know what to think at this point.”
She added: “What would reassure me would be to see our president acting and not someone defending him.”
First ladies are generally expected to be the comforter-in-chief in times of tragedy or national unrest. But it is rare to see one called upon to quell the widespread fear and concern within her own party about the president’s ability to lead the country.
Dr. Biden’s vigorous campaign schedule stands in stark contrast to Melania Trump, the former first lady who has not joined her husband, former President Donald J. Trump, on the campaign trail. She did not attend the debate between Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump in Atlanta, although she is scheduled to attend a Log Cabin Republicans fundraiser at her Trump Tower home in New York on Monday.
The Bidens still have an uphill battle to convince those within their own party whether Mr. Biden, who is 81, is fit for a second term. In recent days, several House Democrats have called for Mr. Biden to resign, and more were expected to do so as lawmakers return to Washington from a summer recess.
Columnists and pundits have called for Mr. Biden to drop out, fueling a mindset in the White House and on Mr. Biden’s campaign that Mr. Biden should focus more on ordinary voters than on the “elites” who frustrate him, as he put it on “Morning Joe.” At the White House, several aides, many of whom had been disheartened since Mr. Biden’s disastrous debate performance in Atlanta, had mixed reactions to the president’s decision to appear on the show.
The first lady sidestepped questions from reporters traveling with her about what she would say to Democrats who have called for her husband to drop out.
“Why are you yelling at me?” she asked reporters outside a Tampa coffee shop. “You know me. Don’t yell at me. Just let me talk.” She declined to answer the question.
A person directly familiar with Mr. Biden’s thinking said on Monday that the president was still firmly in the race and would not abandon it without a prolonged fight. But that person also said that Mr. Biden had been warned by some close to him that this was still a crucial phase and that his ability to remain the Democratic nominee was not a sure thing.
For her part, the first lady remains the person closest to the president — not an adviser, but his wife of 47 years — and she would be a key voice in any decision he makes to stay in the race or leave it.
She has remained steadfast in the remain camp, as has Mr Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, who has been informally advising his father in recent days.
