Written by Andrea Shalal and Nandita Bose
WILMINGTON, Del. (Reuters) – Amid growing calls from fellow Democrats to end his re-election campaign, U.S. President Joe Biden gave no hint on Saturday that he was considering stepping down after two defiant public appearances the day before.
Biden, 81, is facing a slow-motion revolt from Democrats in Congress and some influential donors who have grown concerned that he lacks the ability to defeat Republican Donald Trump, 78, in the Nov. 5 election. The president’s long-awaited interview with ABC News that aired Friday night did little to allay those concerns.
In that interview, Biden said only “God Almighty” could convince him to abandon his campaign, dismissing the possibility that Democratic Party leaders would unite to try to persuade him to abandon his campaign. The White House said he had a phone call with his campaign co-chairs on Saturday.
Pressure from Congress appears set to only increase in the coming days as lawmakers return to Washington from the holiday break, with Biden facing one of the most crucial weeks of his presidency.
While his future will be debated in Congress, Biden will host dozens of world leaders at a high-stakes NATO summit in Washington, and is scheduled to hold a news conference that is sure to be closely watched.
U.S. Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota on Saturday became the first House Democrat in a battleground district to call on Biden to back down.
“Given what I saw and heard from the President during last week’s debate in Atlanta, coupled with the lack of a strong response from the President himself after that debate, I do not believe the President can effectively campaign and win against Donald Trump,” Craig, a top target of the 2024 House Republican effort, wrote on X.
House Democratic sources said some Democratic lawmakers were circulating two separate letters calling on Biden to step down, and many of those lawmakers were waiting to see the ABC News interview before moving forward.
House Majority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is scheduled to hold a virtual meeting Sunday with top House Democrats to discuss Biden’s nomination and the way forward.
“Every day that he delays it makes it harder for someone new to come on board to defeat Donald Trump,” U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas, who had previously called on Biden to step down, told CNN after the ABC interview.
Meanwhile, U.S. Senator Mark Warner, on the Senate side, has been in touch with some of his fellow Senate Democrats to invite them to a possible meeting on Monday to discuss Biden’s campaign.
Biden spent Saturday at his home in Delaware, with no public events scheduled, though he did attend an evening church service. Sunday will be a busy day for him, with two campaign events in Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia and Harrisburg.
At a campaign rally in Madison, Wisconsin, on Friday, Biden pledged to stay in the race.
“I will run and I will win again,” Biden told his supporters.
Some polls show Trump widening his lead over Biden, and Democrats fear concerns about the president could affect other races.
But Biden posted his best showing yet in a Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll of swing states, with Trump leading Biden by just two percentage points, 47% to 45%, in the battleground states needed to win the election in November.
One bright spot for Biden came early Saturday, when the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas accepted a U.S. proposal to begin talks on the release of Israeli hostages, including soldiers and men, a move that could pave the way for a ceasefire to end the nine-month war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
Vice President Kamala Harris, the top choice to replace Biden if he steps down as Democratic Party standard-bearer, spoke in New Orleans at the Essence Culture Festival, an annual cultural and music festival sponsored by Essence magazine, whose target audience is black women.
Harris attacked former President Donald Trump and the U.S. Supreme Court for rolling back abortion rights. Her appearance was part of the Biden campaign’s effort to shore up support among black voters.
Harris posted a supportive note for X on Friday after Biden’s rally in Madison, saying the president has dedicated his life to fighting for Americans. “At this moment, I know we are all ready to fight for him,” she said.
Margaret Wacha, 75, a retired physical therapist from Middleton, Wisconsin, saw Biden at the Madison rally and thought he looked stronger, but she was dismayed after watching the interview.
“It’s starting to be about him and whether he can do it, not about what’s best for our nation, and about passing the baton to the next generation,” she added. “It’s time to pass the baton. There are so many good, strong, younger, smarter, more charismatic Democrats out there.”
