Influential Democrats back Biden, as others break ranks

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President Joe Biden got a boost on Friday from two prominent Democrats who said he should stay in the White House race, as other members of his party said the 81-year-old incumbent is unfit for reelection.

“I’m riding with Biden no matter which direction he goes,” Representative James Clyburn said on NBC’s “Today” program, the morning after Biden held a high-profile press conference to beat back doubts about his candidacy.

California Governor Gavin Newsom, who has been floated as a possible successor, said he was sticking with Biden as well. “I’m all in. No daylight,” he said in an interview excerpt released by CBS.

Clyburn, 83, is a respected voice among Black Americans whose support is essential to Biden’s 2024 campaign, while Newsom, 56, is one of several younger governors who are widely seen as the future of the party.

But there were signs that Biden’s support was weakening.

Two congressional Democrats urged Biden to drop his bid on Friday, following at least three who called for him to drop out on Thursday night.

At least 19 lawmakers have called on him to step aside so the party can pick another candidate following his halting June 27 debate performance against Republican rival Donald Trump.

“It is time to move forward. With a new leader,” Representative Mike Levin said in a statement. Unlike many of Biden’s most vocal supporters, Levin faces a competitive re-election battle of his own this year.

Lawmakers are increasingly concerned that Biden’s struggling campaign could complicate their efforts to retain control of the Senate and win back the House.

As he worked to stem further defections, Biden held separate phone calls with groups of Hispanic, Asian and centrist Democratic lawmakers, according to aides. While the Hispanic group’s top two leaders have endorsed Biden, some other members have not stated their positions.

Democratic officeholders, donors and activists are trying to determine whether Biden is their best bet to defeat Trump in the Nov. 5 election and serve another four-year term in the White House.

The New York Times reported that unnamed donors have told a pro-Biden Super PAC that roughly $90 million in pledges will remain on hold as long as he remains in the race.

JEFFRIES MEETS BIDEN

Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic leader in the House of Representatives, said he met with Biden on Thursday night to convey the range of thoughts his 213-member caucus held about Biden’s candidacy. He did not say whether he personally thought Biden should stay in the race.

“I directly expressed the full breadth of insight, heartfelt perspectives and conclusions about the path forward,” Jeffries wrote in a letter to colleagues. He did not say whether he personally thought Biden should stay in the race.

With most U.S. voters firmly divided into ideological camps, opinion polls show the race remains close.

Democrats are worried that Biden’s low approval ratings and growing concerns that he is too old for the job could cause them to lose seats in the House and Senate, leaving them with no grip on power in Washington should Trump win the White House.

Thursday’s press conference provided fodder for Biden supporters and doubters alike.

At one point, Biden referred to his vice president, Kamala Harris, as “Vice President Trump.” Hours earlier he introduced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as “President Putin” at the NATO summit, drawing gasps from those in the room.

Biden occasionally garbled his responses at the press conference but also delivered detailed assessments of global issues that served as a reminder of his decades of experience on the world stage.

Several Democratic strategists, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Biden’s performance would not significantly shift the debate within the party.

Biden will try to shift the focus back to Trump at an evening rally in Detroit.

He and other Democrats have warned that a sweeping policy agenda crafted by conservative allies called Project 2025 would give Trump a blank check to pursue his whims. Trump has distanced himself from the project.

Trump will be in the national spotlight next week, when the Republican Party holds its convention in Milwaukee to award him the presidential nomination.

An NPR/PBS poll released on Friday found Biden leading Trump 50% to 48%, a slight increase from his position before the June 27 debate.

But some analysts have warned that Biden is losing ground in the handful of competitive states that will determine the outcome of the election.

“If current trends continue, Mr. Trump could rack up one of the most decisive presidential victories since 2008,” Democratic strategist Doug Sosnik wrote in the New York Times.