White House chief of staff Zients reassures staff amid Biden turmoil

White House chief of staff Jeff Zients told aides Wednesday to hold their heads high and tune out the noise as President Biden seeks to reassure Democrats after his rocky debate performance last week. 

On an all-staff call, Zients acknowledged the last few days have been challenging but said that White House aides have an extraordinary record to be proud of and more work to do, according to sources on the call. 

There is a lot of noise and chatter, Zients acknowledged, but he advised staff to tune it out and stay disciplined. 

The chief of staff said that the president has been counted out countless times but he and his teams have always seen it through, and he asked the staff to continue being a team and have each other’s backs, sources said. 

The meeting comes as the president faces intense scrutiny following his disastrous debate performance last week.

The call is part of an effort Biden and his team have made to reassure Democrats that he’s able to continue running for reelection. 

During the call, Zients pointed to July 4th as a key milestone in an election year and how the spotlight will be on the campaign but cautioned that it doesn’t mean governing is any less important. Zients said the work of governing is more critical now than ever. 

The all-staff meeting comes on the heels of a smaller meeting with the top 40 senior staff members last Friday.

Senior White House adviser Anita Dunn on that call acknowledged that there would be challenging days ahead.