PHILADELPHIA — President Joe Biden visits a black church and holds a rally with union members in the critical swing state of Pennsylvania on Sunday, in an effort to project enough muscle for his re-election campaign to growing scream within his own party to remove him from the race.
The two appearances come after Biden joined a Saturday call with campaign surrogates and reiterated that he has no plans to step aside as he urged unity among top Democrats. But he also listened to concerns and feedback, according to two people who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.
The president pledged during the call to campaign harder and hit the road more often in the future to get his message to voters more directly. He will have a chance to attend a church service at the Mount Airy Church of God in Christ in Northwest Philadelphia, and then head to the state capital of Harrisburg to speak at an organizing event with union members and local Democrats.
Biden returns to Washington on Sunday evening, where leaders of NATO countries are meeting for a three day summit starting Tuesday to mark the 75th anniversary of the military alliance. The focus could shift more to The Russian War in Ukraine then questions about Biden’s re-election campaign, but the 81-year-old Biden’s political situation remains precarious.
Five Democratic lawmakers have called on him to abandon his re-election bids for Novemberand more could do so in the coming days, when Congress reconvenes. Gathering in person will give congressional Democrats a chance to discuss concerns about Biden’s ability to weather the remaining four months of the campaign — not to mention another four years in the White House — and the real prospects of defeating the former Republican president Donald Trump.
The president’s campaign has announced a $50 million advertising campaign for the entire month, aimed at targeting big-ticket moments like the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris. Still, Biden’s campaign team is quietly bracing itself for the chorus of calls for him to leave the race to grow in the coming days — by talking to surrogates and calling and texting lawmakers to try to head off more potential desertions.
Biden received a boost over the weekend from other key Democrats who had previously raised questions but now… moved to support himled by Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi and Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina. Still, with the Democratic convention approachingthe short term is especially crucial.
Since his disastrous debate performance Late last month, donors, strategists, lawmakers and their constituents called on Democrats to replace him at the top of the ticket before, they say, it’s too late. Biden’s Friday interview with ABC has not convinced some who remain skeptical that he can revive his campaign.
Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut said in an interview with CNN on Sunday that Biden “needs to answer the questions that voters have.” But he added: “If he does that this week, I think he’ll be in a very good position and we can get back to what this campaign needs.”
Murphy also said he didn’t know whether a cognitive test “would be impactful” for voters concerned about Biden’s potential decline. During his interview Friday, Biden declined to submit to such a test, saying the daily trials of the presidency were evidence enough of his mental acuity.
But California Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff told NBC he “would be happy if both the president and Donald Trump took a cognitive test.” Trump has taken the test at his own campaign rallies said Biden should undergo such tests while boasting of his own mental and physical stamina.
Schiff added that the president’s choice to stay in the race “depends on what Joe Biden thinks is best” and that he can “run hard” to defeat Trump or “if his decision is to pass the torch, then the president should do everything he can to make that other candidate successful.”
Biden has insisted he will not concede to another Democrat, saying he is Democrats’ best chance to defeat Trump. His visit to a black church gives him a chance to motivate African-American voters, who make up the Democrats’ largest and most loyal base of support. It could also send a message to members of the Congressional Black Caucus, whose support the president needs as he works to quell potential uprisings on Capitol Hill.
At the Essence Festival of Culture in New Orleans on Saturday, Biden received enthusiastic support from four caucus members, including Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, who told attendees: “Don’t go out and turn away from this president.”
California Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters, 85, received a standing ovation when she declared, “People say Joe Biden is too old. In fact, I’m older than Biden!”
“There will be no other Democratic candidate,” Waters said, “and we need to know that.”
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Weissert reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Zeke Miller in Washington, Michelle Price in New York, Meg Kinnard in Chapin, South Carolina, and Bill Barrow in New Orleans contributed to this report.