WASHINGTON — White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients urged people at an all-staff meeting Wednesday to ignore the “noise” and focus on the job of governing as senior advisers scramble to contain the political fallout from the crisis. President Joe Biden’s Disastrous Debate Performance.
Zients acknowledged that the days since the Atlanta confrontation between Biden and Republican Donald Trump have been difficult, but the chief of staff stressed to White House officials the administration’s accomplishments and track record. According to a White House official, he said that governing will only become more important as the campaign period gets underway, particularly after the Fourth of July holiday.
The president himself began making personal overtures on his own, speaking privately with top Democratic lawmakers including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware and Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina, a second White House official and others with knowledge of the conversations said.
On Capitol Hill, anxiety is growing by the day as Biden has been slow to connect with top Democrats and rank-and-file members, according to people familiar with the ongoing conversations. Democrats are unhappy with the explanations of Biden’s debate performance from both White House staff and Biden himself. And there’s a deeper frustration among some Democrats who believe Biden should have addressed this much sooner and has put them in an awkward position by staying in the race.
Zients tried to build staffers’ confidence in Biden’s reelection apparatus, noting that the president has a “strong campaign team” and that it’s the White House’s job to focus on continuing to implement Biden’s agenda. He also told staffers that Biden has always weathered tough times, despite being written off over his decades in public office.
The chief of staff also encouraged his aides to “remain a team” and, while acknowledging the increasing political discussion, to “ignore it” and remain disciplined, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to relay Zients’ private comments. Zients also urged White House staff to ask questions and provide feedback.
It’s not unusual for a 15-minute phone call to be held with all White House staff, but Wednesday’s conversations came as Biden and senior White House officials tried to reassure shell-shocked lawmakers, donors and other party allies amid mounting questions about whether the 81-year-old president has the competency to run for a second term.
Biden’s reelection campaign has scheduled its own staff-wide call and said it will “use emails and all staff calls more frequently to ensure you all have the latest updates and broader campaign priorities for the day,” according to a memo sent Wednesday by campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon and campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez. The memo emphasizes that the election between Biden and Trump will still be close, in an effort to downplay the lasting effects of the debate.
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were also scheduled to hold one of their sporadic lunches on Wednesday, and the president planned to host a number of Democratic governors at the White House in the evening.
Among the Democratic governors who planned to attend in person were Tim Walz of Minnesota, who heads the Democratic Governors Association; J.B. Pritzker of Illinois; Maura Healey of Massachusetts; Daniel McKee of Rhode Island; Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan; Andy Beshear of Kentucky; and Gavin Newsom of California, according to aides. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy planned to attend virtually.
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Associated Press journalists Will Weissert, Mary Clare Jalonick and Farnoush Amiri contributed to this report.