Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin said he was “very concerned” about President Joe Biden’s likely victory in November but downplayed Democratic defections and said he would continue to support Biden.
Asked whether he thought Biden should step down as the Democratic nominee, Durbin voiced his support.
“At this point, I think he has a strong campaign and a strong message, and I believe he’ll move forward, and I’m going to support him,” he said.
Durbin also was asked by reporters to respond to comments this morning from former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who said she would support Biden “whatever he decides to do.”
Durbin said he had not seen the comments but responded, “Let me be honest with you, he is a presidential candidate. He has made it clear that he intends to remain a presidential candidate. Our number one priority is to defeat Donald Trump.”
Durbin also bristled at reports of deep divisions within the Democratic Party over the presidential nominee.
“The reality is, this has been front-page news for 10, 12 days now, and the reality is that a lot of Americans don’t understand why we’re pausing and focusing on this instead of the issues that matter to their families,” he said.
Asked about the seven House Democrats who have so far called on Biden to resign, Durbin said, “Seven of how many?”
Asked about Colorado Senator Michael Bennet’s comment on CNN last night that Biden could lose “by a landslide” to Donald Trump, Durbin replied, “That’s Michael’s conclusion. I believe that if we run the right campaign and highlight what we’ve accomplished under this president, Biden will be re-elected.”
Durbin urged Biden to “run an aggressive campaign and get his message out to the American people” and repeated his criticism of the media. “He certainly made an effort, but it seemed like he had other issues for at least the next 12 or 14 days,” Durbin said.
