US president Joe Biden has appealed for party unity to take on Donald Trump’s “dark vision”, working to hold off pressure from Democrats at the highest levels for him to bow out of the 2024 election to make way for a new nominee and avoid widespread losses.
As more Democratic members of Congress called for him to drop out on Friday — bringing the total since his disastrous debate against Mr Trump to at least 30 — Mr Biden remained isolated at his beach house in Delaware after being diagnosed with Covid-19.
The president, who has insisted he can beat the Republican former president, was huddling with family and relying on a few long-time aides as he tries to resist efforts to shove him aside.
Mr Biden, in a Friday statement, said Mr Trump’s acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention on Thursday, showcased a “dark vision for the future”.
Mr Biden, seeking to move the political conversation away from his fate and onto his rival’s agenda, said he was planning to return to the campaign trail next week and insisted he has a path to victory over Mr Trump, despite the worries of some of his party’s most eminent members.
“Together, as a party and as a country, we can and will defeat him at the ballot box,” Mr Biden said. “The stakes are high, and the choice is clear. Together, we will win.”
Earlier in the day, his campaign chair, Jen O’Malley Dillion, acknowledged “slippage” in support for the president, but insisted he is “absolutely” remaining in the race and that the campaign sees “multiple paths” to beating Mr Trump.
“We have a lot of work to do to reassure the American people that yes he’s old, but he can win,” she told MSNBC’s Morning Joe show.
But she said voters concerned about Mr Biden’s fitness to lead are not switching to vote for Mr Trump.
“They have questions, but they are staying with Joe Biden,” she said.
At the same time, the Democratic National Committee ’s rulemaking arm held a meeting on Friday, pressing ahead with plans for a virtual roll call before August 7th to nominate the presidential pick, ahead of the party’s convention later in the month in Chicago.
“President Biden deserves the respect to have important family conversations with members of the caucus and colleagues in the House and Senate and Democratic leadership and not be battling leaks and press statements,” Senator Chris Coons of Delaware, Mr Biden’s closest friend in Congress and his campaign co-chair, told The Associated Press.
It’s a pivotal few days for the president and his party: Mr Trump has wrapped up an enthusiastic Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. And Democrats, racing time, are considering the extraordinary possibility of Mr Biden stepping aside for a new presidential nominee before their own convention.
Among the democrats expressing worries to allies about Mr Biden’s chances were former president Barack Obama and speaker emerita Nancy Pelosi, who has privately told Mr Biden the party could lose the ability to seize control of the House if he does not step away from the 2024 race.
I tested positive for COVID-19 this afternoon, but I am feeling good and thank everyone for the well wishes.
I will be isolating as I recover, and during this time I will continue to work to get the job done for the American people.— President Biden (@POTUS) July 17, 2024
New Mexico Senator Martin Heinrich on Friday called on Mr Biden to exit the race, making him the third Senate Democrat to do so.
“By passing the torch, he would secure his legacy as one of our nation’s greatest leaders and allow us to unite behind a candidate who can best defeat Donald Trump and safeguard the future of our democracy,” said Mr Heinrich, who is up for re-election this autumn.
And Friday, Reps Jared Huffman, Mark Veasey, Chuy Garcia and Mark Pocan – representing a wide swath of the caucus – together called on Mr Biden to step aside.
“We must defeat Donald Trump to save our democracy,” they wrote.
Separately, Rep Sean Casten of Illinois wrote in an op-ed that with “a heavy heart and much personal reflection” he, too, was calling on Mr Biden to “pass the torch to a new generation.”
Campaign officials said Mr Biden was even more committed to staying in the race despite the calls for him to go. And senior West Wing aides have had no internal discussions or conversations with the president about Mr Biden dropping out.
