After his disastrous performance in last week’s debate, President Biden has told key allies that if he cannot convince the public in the coming days that he is worthy of being the presidential nominee, he may not be able to retain his candidacy.
The ally stressed that the president remains serious about his reelection fight, but he knows his next few public appearances leading up to the holidays must go well, particularly an interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos scheduled for Friday and campaign stints in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
“The president knows if he holds two more events like this, that will change by the end of the week,” the ally said, referring to Biden’s halting and unfocused performance at the debate. The person, who spoke to the president within the past 24 hours, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive situation.
White House spokesman Andrew Bates said the reports were “completely false” and that the White House had not been given enough time to respond.
The conversation marks the first public sign that the president is seriously considering whether he can recover from his disastrous defeat at Thursday’s debate in Atlanta, raising concerns about his viability as a presidential candidate and whether he can hold onto another four years in office.
Several Biden allies stressed Wednesday that Biden still wants to fight to maintain control of his candidacy despite growing headwinds within his party.
A senior Biden adviser also spoke on the matter on the condition of anonymity, saying the president “understands very well the political challenges he faces.” The person added Wednesday that Biden recognizes that his campaign may end up with a different outcome than the one he’s striving for, but the president sees Biden as a mentally astute and competent leader and “can’t understand why other people don’t accept that.” Biden remains adamant that his performance in the debate was poor, not revelatory.
Campaign officials nervously awaited the results of new polls on Wednesday, aware that bad numbers could add to the crisis. A CBS News poll released Wednesday morning showed former President Donald J. Trump narrowly leading Mr. Biden since the debate, 50% to 48% nationally and 51% to 48% in battleground states.
Biden has been slow to reach out personally to key Democrats, stoking anger within his party and frustrating some of his own advisers. He called only the top House Democrat, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, on Tuesday night, five days after the debate, and spoke for the first time with the top Senate Democrat, Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, on Wednesday morning.
Trump had not spoken to former Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California as of Tuesday, and major donors were outraged that he did not join a campaign call on Monday meant to appease them.
Democratic leaders in the House and Senate did not call on their lawmakers to endorse Biden on Wednesday, instead listening to myriad complaints from across the party, including from moderates and progressives.
The message from leadership was that lawmakers should be free to take whatever position on Biden’s candidacy was best for their districts. Members of Biden’s team, including Steve Ricchetti and Schwanza Goff, were on the phone trying to quell growing frustration.
Democrats’ dilemma is illustrated by the actions of Sen. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, a longtime Democrat who recently left the party, who was so disillusioned with Biden’s debate performance that he asked his staff to include him on several Sunday shows to deliver sharp critiques of the state of the campaign.
Manchin was also upset that his calls to Democratic leaders went unanswered. Eventually, Sen. Chris Coons, D-Delaware, Schumer and other Democrats stepped in and Manchin canceled his television appearance. Other senators who have signaled their intention to replace Biden have received calls from their campaigns asking for more time to smooth things over.
The president was scheduled to have lunch with Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday and meet with Democratic governors at the White House in the evening. Until now, he has focused on talking to trusted advisers and family members who have urged him to continue on with the campaign.
But he has told at least one person that his plan to shift the focus away from his debate performance and back to Trump may not work.
Several of Biden’s allies stress that he is still in the fight of his political career and sees the moment as a chance to bounce back from abandonment, as he has done so many times in a career that spans half a century.
At the same time, they said, he is clearly aware of the uphill battle he faces in convincing voters, donors and politicians that his debate performance was exceptional.
As unrest within the party continues to grow, some of the president’s advisers have grown increasingly pessimistic in recent days, reflecting dissatisfaction not just with the debate performance but also with the response since.
Democrats are troubled that Biden is relying not on the party’s top leaders but on advice from his son, Hunter Biden, who was convicted last month on firearms charges stemming from his use of crack cocaine.
They are outraged by attacks on fellow Democrats who were derided by the campaign as “bedwetters” for expressing concerns about whether Biden could beat Trump, and some Democrats are increasingly suspicious that the president’s team hasn’t been forthright enough about the impact of aging on the presidency.
Mr. Biden’s team had tried to build a firewall by persuading Democratic lawmakers and prominent party figures not to publicly call for him to resign, but Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas on Tuesday became the first Democrat to say the president should step down, and other lawmakers have privately signaled they may follow suit.
Democrats familiar with the discussions said major party donors have made private calls to members of the House and Senate, super PACs, the Biden campaign and the White House to let them know they believe Biden should resign.
Peter Baker and Luke Broadwater Contributed report.
