US President Joe Biden has reportedly told a key ally that he knows his candidacy may not be salvageable if he cannot convince the public in the coming days that he is ready for another term, following his devastating debate with Donald Trump last week, the New York Times reports.
According to a close ally of Biden quoted by the US media – who asked that his name not be revealed – the US president is continuing his election campaign, but acknowledges that his next appearances should go well.
White House: Reports ‘absolutely false’
White House spokesman Andrew Bates, however, described the specific reports as “absolutely false.”
As the New York Times notes, this conversation that Biden had with his close ally is the first indication that he is seriously considering whether he can recover after the debate.
A senior Biden adviser, who also spoke to the Times on condition of anonymity, said the US president is “well aware of the political challenge he faces”.
Breaking News: President Biden told a key ally that his campaign may be unwinnable if he can’t convince the public he’s ready for office. It’s the first public indication that Biden is seriously considering whether he can bounce back after the debate. https://t.co/xNo2VHcnnW pic.twitter.com/UZBB27pI7q
-The New York Times (@nytimes) July 3, 2024
And in the background Kamala Harris
Vice President Kamala Harris is seen as the most likely alternative (perhaps out of necessity) to replace Biden if he decides not to continue his re-election campaign, according to seven senior Biden campaign sources, cited by Reuters.
In fact, there are polls that show the vice president trailing Donald Trump by just one point.
In a Reuters/Ipsos poll released Tuesday, Harris trailed Trump by just one percentage point, 42% to 43%, a margin effectively within the poll’s margin of error of +-3.5 percentage points.
In the face-to-face discussions, Democrats have been blunt both about the White House’s lack of transparency about the president’s apparent weakness and about his failure to rebound after the debate with interviews that could counter concerns that he is no longer fit to serve in office.
“He needs to start showing and stop telling. Otherwise, he will lose even more representatives. Things are very serious,” Punchbowl quoted a Democratic congressman as saying.
James Clyburn, a former South Carolina lawmaker whose support was key to securing Biden’s 2020 election victory, said he would support Kamala Harris’ candidacy if Biden were to step down.
Two other House Democrats, Jared Golden of Maine and Marie Gluzenkamp Perez of Washington, said publicly after the debate that they believed Trump would win the November election, increasing pressure on Biden.