Concerns are growing among elected Democrats following the president’s recent debate performance.
US President Joe Biden and his campaign have a short window to demonstrate the 81-year-old’s fitness to seek re-election, according to a prominent Democratic Party donor.
Charles Myers, head of Signum Global Advisors, believes Biden’s performance in the debate against Donald Trump has significantly altered the election landscape, causing a sense of “panic” among Democratic Party donors and elected officials.
House and Senate Democrats are particularly worried that the president’s performance could negatively impact their campaigns. Myers told Bloomberg Surveillance on Wednesday that leading figures are likely to publicly call for Biden to step down in favor of another candidate.
“I’m hearing the most pressure and much more panic [from elected Democrats] actually than amongst the donors,” he said.
A separate Bloomberg report suggests that numerous Democrats in Congress are considering signing an open letter to Biden, urging him to withdraw from the race. The report, citing an anonymous “senior party official,” did not disclose the names of those reportedly considering such action.
The Biden campaign has a few days to prove the president’s capability amid concerns about his physical and mental health. “I think we’re going to find out in the next four to five days whether the president is still in this race. I don’t think he’s got three weeks,” Myers stated.
On Wednesday, Biden declared his intention to continue his re-election campaign “to the end,” dismissing any possibility of withdrawing.
“Let me say this as clearly as I possibly can, as simply and straightforward as I can: I am running… no one’s pushing me out. I’m not leaving. I’m in this race to the end, and we’re going to win,” Biden said during a call with his campaign staffers.
The White House has also dismissed rumors of Biden’s potential withdrawal, with spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre stating that the US president remains “clear-eyed, and he is staying in the race.”