Biden heads into weekend badly bruised but still fighting

The president had a brutal week, but is heading into the weekend still atop the Democratic ticket, with his campaign beating back a barrage of private and public pleas for his exit. 

The president’s week was derailed by a positive COVID-19 test result — grim counterprogramming to the Republican National Convention amid an election where age and vitality are top of mind to voters. While he saw a brief pause in lawmakers publicly saying he should drop his 2024 bid following the assassination attempt on former President Trump — and Biden’s immediate calls for unity in the aftermath — those public statements have picked back up, with another senator and 9 House members going public on Friday alone. 

Biden faces a ticking clock before the Democratic National Committee moves forward with plans to virtually nominate him as early as August 1, ahead of its convention starting August 19, and faces mounting pressure to make a final decision on his political future.

COVID symptoms improving, but weekend schedule empty

Biden is weighing one of the toughest political decisions of his decades-long career while he has COVID-19 and is isolating at his home in Rehoboth, Del. 

The president tested positive on Wednesday while campaigning in Las Vegas. He had nothing on his schedule for the rest of the week and no public plans coming up, but he said on Friday that he looks “forward to getting back on the campaign trail next week.”

Biden’s doctor, Kevin O’Connor, released an update on his health, outlining that he took his fourth dose of Paxlovid that morning and tested positive for COVID-19 again on Thursday. O’Connor said that Biden’s main symptoms are a “loose, non-productive cough and hoarseness,” but that he is improving meaningfully. 

Also, he said the president’s lungs are clear, blood work is normal, and blood count is not showing any evidence of a bacterial infection.

First lady Jill Biden is currently in Rehoboth with her husband. She has been making a swing to critical states this month, including Georgia, North Carolina and Florida, and she is set to leave for Paris next week for the Olympics.  

Vice President Harris, who campaigned in North Carolina this week and has been staunchly supportive of Biden amid speculation that she could replace him, is set to address top Democratic donors on Friday, The New York Times reported, while Biden has struggled to ease concerns among donors about his candidacy.

Biden team defiant in wake of bruising reports 

Biden’s team insists he is not dropping out of the race, even as reports say the president has become open to the possibility. Pressure is building from party leaders like former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and former President Obama, who have all reportedly told Biden that he’s likely to lose to Trump. 

“Absolutely, the president’s in this race,” Biden campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Friday morning, adding that Biden “is more committed than ever to beat Donald Trump.”

A source familiar with the White House staff’s thinking on Friday pointed out that Biden was doubted in the 2022 midterms and the 2020 Democratic primary, and excelled.

“This president and his team are resilient as f---. He is committed to staying in this race until he is re-elected, period. So is his staff,” the source said.

Biden was leading in polls throughout the 2020 campaign, and though he remains neck-and-neck with Trump nationally, he’s fallen further behind in swing states since his disastrous debate last month. 

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Biden campaign remain insistent on moving forward with plans to nominate Biden through a virtual roll call ahead of the convention.

Growing list of Democrats call for Biden's exit

The chorus of Democratic lawmakers calling on Biden to step aside grew by ten on Friday — nine House members and one senator — a concerning sign for the president that is only expected to increase when Congress returns to Washington next week.

Reps. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Marc Veasey (D-Texas), Jesús “Chuy” García (D-Ill.) and Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) called on Biden to step aside in a joint statement on Friday, a notable development that highlights discontent with the president from several corners of the Democratic Party.

Veasey is the first member of the Congressional Black Caucus to urge Biden to withdraw from the race, highlighting a crack in what has been the president’s strongest cohort of support in the Capitol. Huffman, García and Pocan are all part of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, where Biden has also largely enjoyed support.

García is also a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC). The joint statement published the same day news broke that the CHC’s political arm, BOLD PAC, endorsed Biden, poking a hole in what the campaign had touted as a key sign of support in his re-election bid.

Other calls for Biden to step down came from Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), a close ally of former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Rep. Greg Landsman (D-Ohio), a frontliner, and Reps. Sean Casten (D-Ill.), Betty McCollum (D-Minn.) and Morgan McGarvey (D-Ky.).

On the other side of the Capitol, Sen. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) became the third senator to call for Biden to move aside on Friday, joining Sens. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.)

Biden notches new endorsements

The campaign on Friday morning announced a new endorsement from the political arm of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, BOLD PAC, The Hill first reported. 

And, more than 1,400 Black women and allies indicated their support for Biden and Vice President Harris in a letter on Thursday.

O’Malley Dillon held an all-campaign staff call on Friday, during which she touted those who have had Biden’s back, according to a source familiar with the call.

“The people that the president is hearing from are saying, stay in this race and keep going and keep fighting, and we need you. Those voices will never be as loud as the people on TV, but remember that the people in our country are not watching cable news,” she said, according to the source.

Others are coming to his defense, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who took a swing at Democratic “elites” who are pushing for Biden to stand down, warning they are also “not interested” in seeing Harris atop the ticket. 

And, Delaware Sen. Chris Coons (D), a Biden campaign co-chair, after saying Biden is “weighing” his future, shared on X: “I fully support the President. He's told me he's in it to win it. I'm with him 100% because I know he can beat Trump just like he did last time.”

Jeffries coy on Biden as pressure in caucus grows

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Friday praised Biden, but he stopped short of endorsing the president — or calling on him to step aside — further fueling the speculation about where the top Democrat stands in the debate over Biden’s candidacy.

Jeffries has been coy in his public comments about Biden since last month’s disastrous debate, but according to ABC News, suggested to Biden during a meeting last week that he should step out of the race. 

He would not confirm those reports on Friday.

“President Biden, as I've said repeatedly, is our nominee,” Jeffries said during an event in Brooklyn, N.Y. “He has a tremendous track record of success. He’s one of the most accomplished American presidents in our history and he has the vision, I believe, the ability, the capacity, and the track record to make a case to the American people that will result in us being successful in November.”

In a statement following the ABC report, a Jeffries spokesperson said “Any further characterization of the private, one-on-one meeting between President Biden and Leader Jeffries is speculative and uninformed.”

Congress’s return looms

Both the House and Senate are set to return to Washington on Monday, marking the first time in more than a week that Democrats will come face-to-face with reporters questioning where they stand on Biden’s future. 

Since the last time Democrats were in the Capitol, Biden held a high-stakes press conference and sat for an interview with NBC News and other outlets, but polling has done little to reassure Democrats that he can win back voter support and beat Trump, and fears are growing that he will also drag down House and Senate candidates. 

Some Democrats are expecting more lawmakers to come out of the woodwork when Congress returns to session next week.

“I would be very surprised if that did not happen,” one House Democrat, who requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive deliberations, told The Hill when asked if more members will urge Biden to step aside next week.

“I just think the alarm is spreading among those in competitive districts, or those who are hoping for exploitation of opportunities,” they added. “To see all of that in danger, is going to lead people to make hard choices.”