WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) 鈥� To a defiant President , the is up to the public 鈥� not the Democrats on Capitol Hill. But the chorus of Democratic voices calling for him to step aside is growing, from donors, strategists, lawmakers and their constituents who say he should bow out.
The party has not fallen in line behind him even after the events that were set up as part of a blitz to reset his imperiled campaign and show everyone he wasn鈥檛 too old to stay in the job or to do it another four years.
On Saturday, a fifth Democratic lawmaker said openly that Biden should not run again. Rep. of Minnesota said that after what she saw and heard in the debate with Republican rival Donald Trump, and Biden鈥檚 鈥渓ack of a forceful response鈥� afterward, he should step aside 鈥渁nd allow for a new generation of leaders to step forward.鈥�
Craig posted one of the Democrats鈥� key suburban wins in the 2018 midterms and could be a barometer for districts that were vital for Biden in 2020.
With the and just four months to Election Day, neither camp in the party can much afford this internecine drama much longer. But it is bound to drag on until Biden steps aside or Democrats realize he won鈥檛 and learn to contain their concerns about the president鈥檚 chances against Trump.
There were signs party leaders realize the standoff needs to end. Some of the most senior lawmakers, including , were now publicly working to bring the party back to the president. Pelosi and Clyburn had both raised pointed questions about Biden in the aftermath of the debate.
鈥淏iden is who our country needs,鈥� Clyburn said late Friday after Biden's interview with ABC aired.
On Saturday, Biden鈥檚 campaign said the president joined a biweekly meeting with all 10 of the campaign鈥檚 nation co-chairs to 鈥渄iscuss their shared commitment to winning the 2024 race.鈥� Clyburn was among them.
But the silence from most other House Democrats on Saturday was notable, suggesting that lawmakers are not all 小蓝视频 convinced by what they saw from the president. More House Democrats are likely to call for Biden to step aside when lawmakers return to Washington at the start of the week.
Biden had no public schedule Saturday, as he and aides stepped back from the fervor over the past few days. But the president will head out campaigning again on Sunday in Philadelphia, intent on putting the debate behind him. And this coming week, the U.S. is and the president is to hold a news conference.
Vice President Kamala Harris campaigned Saturday in New Orleans, but she steered clear of questions about whether Biden should step away.
The president's 鈥� billed as an effort to get the campaign back on track 鈥� stirred carefully worded expressions of disappointment from the party's ranks, and worse from those who spoke anonymously. Ten days into the crisis moment of the Biden-Trump debate, Biden is dug in.
Even within the White House there were concerns the ABC interview wasn鈥檛 enough to turn the page.
Campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez has been texting lawmakers and administration officials are encouraging them not to go public with their concerns about the race and the president鈥檚 electability, according to a Democrat granted anonymity to discuss the situation.
Democrats are wrestling over what they see and hear from the president but are not at all certain about a path forward. They were particularly concerned that Biden suggested that even if he were to be defeated in a rematch with Trump, he would know that he gave it his all. That seemed an insufficient response.
鈥淎 lot can change in the next 72 to 96 hours, because that鈥檚 what happens nowadays," Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said Saturday. 鈥淵ou know, four months is an eternity in today鈥檚 political world. I鈥檓 not worried about making sure we have a great ticket if the president chose some other road.鈥�
But Green said he also wants to "respect the president and give him the time to make this decision. And if he decides to be our nominee, he鈥檚 it. And we鈥檒l go all in against Mr. Trump because he doesn鈥檛 represent the right values for our people.鈥�
As Biden鈥檚 camp encourages House lawmakers to give the president the chance to show what he can do, one Democratic aide said the Friday interview didn't help and in fact made things worse. The aide expects more Democrats will likely be calling on Biden to step aside.
Democratic leaders in the House and Senate, without breaking with Biden at this point, are pulling together meetings with members in the next few days to discuss options. Many lawmakers are hearing from constituents at home and fielding questions. One senator was working to get others together to ask him to step aside.
Following the interview, a Democratic donor reported that many of the fellow donors he spoke with were furious, particularly because the president declined to acknowledge the effects of his aging. Many of those donors are seeking a change in leadership at the top of the ticket, said the person, who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.
Biden roundly telling voters at a Wisconsin rally, reporters outside Air Force One and ABC's George Stephanopoulos that he was not going anywhere.
鈥淐ompletely ruling that out," he told reporters at the rally.
Biden dismissed those who were calling for his ouster, instead saying he'd spoken with 20 lawmakers and they had all encouraged him to stay in the race.
Concern about Biden鈥檚 fitness for another four years has been persistent. In from , fully 77% of U.S. adults said Biden was too old to be effective for four more years. Not only did 89% of Republicans say that, but so did 69% of Democrats. His approval rating stands at 39% in the most recent AP-NORC poll.
Biden has dismissed the polling, citing as evidence his 2020 surge to the nomination and win over Trump, after initially faltering, and the 2022 midterm elections, when many expected Republicans would sweep but they didn鈥檛, in part over the issue of abortion rights.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 buy that,鈥� when he was reminded that he was behind in recent polls. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think anybody鈥檚 more qualified to be president or win this race than me."
At times, Biden rambled during the interview, which ABC said aired in full and without edits. Asked how he might turn the race around, Biden argued that one key would be large and energetic rallies like the one he held Friday in Wisconsin. When reminded that Trump routinely draws larger crowds, the president laid into his opponent.
鈥淭rump is a pathological liar,鈥� Biden said, accusing Trump of bungling the federal response to the COVID pandemic and failing to create jobs. 鈥淵ou ever see something that Trump did that benefited someone else and not him?鈥�
Republicans, though, are squarely behind their candidate, and support for Trump, younger than Biden, has been growing.
And that鈥檚 despite , that he was found liable for , and that his businesses were found to have .
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This story was first published on Jul. 6, 2024. It was updated on Jul. 7, 2024, to correct the name of Hawaii鈥檚 governor. He is Josh Green, not Mark Green.
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Miller and Mascaro reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Joey Cappelletti in Saugatuck, Michigan, Mark Thiessen in Anchorage, Bill Barrow in New Orleans and Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed to this report.
Colleen Long, Zeke Miller And Lisa Mascaro, The Associated Press
