It’s unclear whether his campaign will last much longer without a strong performance at ABC, and once-whispered debates about who would replace him if he steps down are becoming more intense.
For now, Biden is not ready to back down and has signaled that in conversations with Democratic governors, aides and campaign staff.
But there is a limited window for any potential changes: The Democratic National Committee announced weeks ago that it would hold a virtual roll call for the formal nomination before the party’s national convention begins on Aug. 19.
“I’m proud to run for re-election as a president who has made promises and kept them,” Biden said in a radio interview.
“It was a bad night. A bad night. I messed up,” he said at the debate, about his halting, convoluted answers.
“But 90 minutes on stage doesn’t erase what I’ve been doing for the last three and a half years,” he said in a separate interview with Philadelphia-area WURD radio.
In the private conversation, Biden focused on how to reverse the trajectory of the fractious debate and stressed the importance of this year’s presidential election.
Asked during one call what would happen if efforts to get back on track didn’t work, Biden stressed that he understood how important the campaign is and would put country first, said a person who has spoken directly to the president, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.
Biden met for more than an hour in person and virtually with more than 20 Democratic governors at the White House on Wednesday night. After the meetings, the governors described the conversations as “candid” and said they were concerned about a Trump victory in November but supported Biden.
During the meeting, Biden told the leaders he had sought medical attention following his debate performance, according to two people familiar with the meeting who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss private conversations. Hours earlier, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre had said Biden had not sought medical attention.
The White House blamed Biden’s pale, husky and occasionally halting performance at the debate on cold, but he also said he was jet-lagged after back-to-back international trips that ended 12 days ago.
Biden’s staff has resisted repeated requests to release more detailed medical records of the 81-year-old president, whose doctor declared him fit to carry out his duties after his last medical examination in February.
Two Democrats have publicly called on Biden to drop out of the race, but most are taking a wait-and-see approach, waiting for new polls and interviews to get a better idea of how the situation unfolds, according to the Democrats, who requested anonymity to speak candidly about the president.
Vice President Kamala Harris has emerged as the front-runner to replace Biden if he were to withdraw. People involved in private discussions acknowledge that California Governor Gavin Newsom and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer remain strong alternatives. But some see Harris as the best candidate to quickly unify the party and avoid a chaotic and divisive convention fight.
“She’s really pathetic,” Trump said in the video, posted to his social media accounts and it’s unclear when he made the remarks, which were later revealed to be made by Harris, who he said would be his new rival.
Other Democratic allies have remained quiet since the debate, but there is growing private frustration over the Biden campaign’s handling of the election at a critical juncture, particularly over Biden’s waiting several days to engage in direct damage control with senior members of his own party.
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Associated Press writers Seung Min Kim, Lisa Mascaro and Mary Claire Jalonick contributed to this report.
