Democrats will no doubt try to replace Joe Biden, but the old man is adamant that he’s running and won’t be pushed out. Come hell or high water, Joe Biden will win the next election. It’s a line that most Democrats wish they could believe, but the fallout from last week’s disastrous debate has been something of a slow-moving trainwreck, with Biden trailing Trump in all battleground states. He’s also leading the president in the national polls. It also doesn’t help that the campaign has refused to concede the damage the first debate has done to his election chances, opting to instead defend his health and ignore concerns from top donors.
With Obama and other heavyweights beating the ‘dump Biden’ drum, the president had to respond, even though it was rather conspicuous that this man doesn’t speak with congressional leaders. In this call, Biden channeled his inner Jordan Belfort from The Wolf of Wall Street, saying he wasn’t leaving (via Axios):
The call — and one Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris had with their campaign staff Wednesday — took place as Biden's team is under increasing pressure from fellow Democrats over the president's fitness for office.
"I am running," Biden said on that call, according to the White House's political director. "I am the leader of the Democratic Party. No one is pushing me out. I've been knocked down before and counted out my whole life."
The White House staff has been in turmoil in recent days, as many officials feel they have gotten only vague talking points and little explanation from senior leadership explaining what happened to the president at his debate against former President Trump.
Zients' conference call — in which he told staffers that anyone could come to his office or email him to talk — was part of a larger effort to give them an avenue to vent their frustrations after a difficult week.
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Zients urged staffers to see the June 27 debate in which Biden struggled as just "one night.... We all know is that he is a great president."
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The first point is, head down. We gotta keep doing what we've been doing to get things done. Keep executing. There's a strong campaign team in place, and they're executing on their mission."
"At the same time, hold your head high. There is so much the president has accomplished for the American people, and this team has accomplished so much."
"We need to stay together as a team and have each other's back. The President and this team has been through the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. And you know what? That'll continue, and the only way we get through it is as a team."
“No one is pushing me out. I'm not leaving” pic.twitter.com/Elw9o2Dyrq
— Sunny (@sunnyright) July 3, 2024
As long as Biden’s poll numbers remain dismal and three-fourths of the country thinks he’s too old, replacement theories will be floated.
Democrat Rep. Debbie Dingell on Biden: "He does not have a lot of time!" 😬 pic.twitter.com/eTU8OPiSZs
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 3, 2024
They just so happened to adopt these rules in 2022 for no reason at all. pic.twitter.com/KDkn1n0AMM
— Just Loki (@LokiJulianus) July 3, 2024
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