FOREIGN: Joe Biden is “absolutely not” pulling out of the White House race, his spokeswoman said yesterday, as pressure mounted on the president following his disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump
Panic has gripped Democrats in the wake of last week’s TV debate, and internal rumblings about finding a replacement candidate before November’s election have been amplified by polls showing Trump extending his lead.
Eighty-one- year-old Joe Biden, is said to have acknowledged to a key ally that his reelection bid was on the line if he failed to quickly reassure the public that he was still up to the job.
White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre rejected those reports outright, insisting Biden has no intention of withdrawing.
In a call with campaign and party staffers, Biden insisted he was going nowhere.
He repeated that message in an emergency meeting at the White House with Democratic governors, who pledged their continued support.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who also attended the meeting and is seen as one of the top picks to replace Biden if he should drop out, said on X that the president is the party’s nominee.
Biden has repeatedly admitted he performed poorly in the debate, and was blunt in a radio interview recorded Wednesday with Wisconsin’s Civic Media.
