White House disputes report Joe Biden mulling exit from presidential race

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and the White House pushed back Wednesday on reports he's wavering about seeking re-election after his disastrous debate performance, reportedly telling his campaign team in a call: "No one's pushing me out. I'm not leaving."

And asked by a reporter at a briefing Wednesday if Biden is considering dropping out of the race, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, "Absolutely not."

The response came after The New York Times reported a key Biden ally said the president said he knows he might not be able to salvage his presidency if he cannot convince voters in the week ahead that he’s up to the job after his debate debacle — a report the White House called "totally false." 

The ally said Biden, 81, is “still deeply in the fight for re-election” but understands his next few appearances must go well, especially an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on Friday and at Pennsylvania and Wisconsin campaign stops, the Times reported.

But if Biden decides not to run, Steve Israel, the former Long Island Democratic congressman and a delegate to the Democratic convention, said the party is in a state of “great uncertainty” about what happens going forward.

“It’s all a big question mark right now. You know the basic lesson here is that every alternative seems fine until you actually see the alternative,” Israel said. 

Biden has kept a low profile so far this week and has been slow to reach out to key congressional Democrats in the days after the debate, raising concerns among some members of the party that he is not doing enough, fast enough, to turn around his sagging campaign.

“It doesn't really change the bigger narrative,” said a Democratic Party official who spoke on condition of anonymity about Biden’s actions this week.

“So obviously, there's a growing concern he’s not doing what he has to do to dig out of this problem. And that's got members of Congress worried. It's got party activists worried,” the official said.

Biden had lunch at the White House with Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday. They met at the White House on Wednesday night with Democratic governors, including New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. 

After the meeting, Hochul issued a statement that said, "I'm here to tell you today, President Joe Biden is in it to win it. And all of us said we pledged our support to him because the stakes could not be higher."

After praising Biden's help for New York, she said: "We feel very confident in his abilities. We talked about the plan and how he's going to be very focused on issues that matter to Americans, and I felt very confident coming out of this meeting as well.”

It wasn’t until Tuesday night, nearly a week after the debate, that Biden spoke with House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-Brooklyn), according to a source familiar with the call but who offered no details about the private conversation.

The president did not call Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) until Wednesday morning. A Schumer spokesman confirmed the call but declined further comment.

The Times report came a day after Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) became the first Democratic member of Congress to publicly call for Biden to step down from the presidential nomination, something others have privately indicated.

New York Democrats are so far sticking with Biden.

“The president has done an outstanding job and whatever he decides he will have my full support,” State Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers), the majority leader, said. “Our next election, the choice could not be clearer: Do you support democracy, decency and fairness, or do you support dictatorship and destruction of the American dream?”

Seven other Democrats in Congress have expressed concerns about Biden’s abilities because of the debate. But at the same time, many Democrats worry about the difficulties ahead if Biden does step down as he appears to sink in the polls.

A New York Times and Siena College poll showed Trump ahead of Biden among likely voters by 6 percentage points, 49% to 43%, his largest lead of the race, the Times reported Wednesday. The poll also showed concerns about whether Biden was fit enough to serve as an effective president grew after the debate.

But in the call to the campaign staff, Biden insisted he's not quitting.

"I am the nominee of the Democratic Party," he said, according to CNN, citing a source familiar with the call. "I'm in this race to the end and we're going to win because when Democrats unite, we always win."

With Yancey Roy