President Biden is “absolutely not” considering pulling out of this election 2024 presidential race, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre gave this information on Wednesday.
The White House has said Biden Despite pressure from Democrats and former staffers and allies to step down, he will continue to run for a second term.
A New York Times report published Wednesday morning indicated Biden had spoken privately to confidants about the possibility of dropping out of the race.
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But when asked during the briefing if Biden would drop out of the race, Jean-Pierre denied it.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre speaks during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
“Absolutely not,” he said. “And you heard, I think, I think it came out directly from the campaign as well.”
Jean-Pierre said the president’s poor performance in the debate was due to his “cold” and reiterated his explanation given on Tuesday night – that he was still recovering from “jet lag” after traveling to Europe for the G-7 summit.
“It wasn’t his best night. He understands that people are right to ask that question, but we can’t forget his record and the work he’s done. We can’t forget how he’s been able to deliver for the American people for almost four years,” he said. “That matters, too. And he has the most historic record, the most in modern politics, and that matters.”
Jean-Pierre said Biden “wants to continue that work.”
“Everything that’s on his agenda is very popular among the majority of the American people, whether it’s continuing to build a strong economy – economic policies – he’s done that, creating new jobs – he’s done that – 15 million jobs. He wants to build on that and continue to do that. And so he wants to continue to expand health care – all these things that he thinks are important,” he said. “He wants to make sure that people don’t forget the record that he’s put forth on behalf of the American people.”
Jean-Pierre again stressed that the debate was simply a “bad night”.
President Joe Biden listens during a tour of the DC Emergency Operations Center on Tuesday, July 2, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
“It wasn’t his best night. He had a cold. He had jet lag. You heard about that directly from the president,” he said. “And when we get out, when he falls down, he gets right back up.”
She added: “That’s what I’m going to focus on. The president has remained very steady and continues to work for the American people.”
Jean-Pierre said Wednesday that Biden “will stay in the race.”
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Biden himself said: “I am running for office. I am the leader of the Democratic Party. No one is ousting me.”
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris reportedly made a surprise appearance on a Democratic National Committee call in an attempt to calm chaos among allies within the party following the debate.
White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients urged people during an all-staff meeting on Wednesday to tune out the “noise” and focus on the business of governing.
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Jean-Pierre affirmed Zients’ efforts, saying he told White House staff that the past several days have been difficult.
Biden himself is reported to have reached out, speaking to top Democratic lawmakers such as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, Delaware Senator Chris Coons and South Carolina Representative James Clyburn.
Representative James Clyburn (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
But the chief of staff also encouraged White House aides to “remain as a team” and to put aside negativity and stay focused on the business of governing.
Jean-Pierre was also asked about comments Biden made in 2020 in which he referred to himself as a transitional candidate, and hoped to be a bridge to the next generation of Democratic leaders.
He responded by saying that Vice President Kamala Harris is “the future of the party.”
“His statement is correct. I mean, he chose the vice president, President Kamala Harris, because she really is the future of the party,” Jean-Pierre said, adding that Biden is “very proud to partner with her and continue to partner with her and build on this phenomenal record for the American people.”
“And I think he’s certainly going to continue to do that. They’re going to do that as partners. As I said, I saw them before they went into the briefing room. They stopped by to talk to me and my team, and they’re ready to go. They’re ready to continue. So the transition will happen in eight years,” she said. “I mean — I’m not going to speculate from here. But you ask me if his comments and statements still hold up. Yes, it still holds up.”
Meanwhile, Biden plans to host a meeting of Democratic governors on Wednesday night.
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Democratic governors who were planning to attend in person included Tim Walz of Minnesota, who leads the Democratic Governors Association, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, Maura Healey of Massachusetts, Daniel McKee of Rhode Island, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Andy Beshear of Kentucky and Gavin Newsom of California, according to their aides. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy were planning to attend virtually.
A USA Today/Suffolk University poll released this week found that four in 10 Democrats said the Democratic Party should intervene and replace Biden as the nominee. Overall, 54% of voters were in favor of Biden dropping out.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
