Biden vows to keep running as signs point to rapidly eroding support on Capitol Hill

A defiant President Biden vowed Wednesday to keep running for reelection, rejecting growing pressure from Democrats to withdraw after a disastrous debate performance raised questions about his readiness to keep campaigning, much less win in November. Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva told the New York Times that although he backs Biden as long as he is a candidate, this “is an opportunity to look elsewhere.” What the president “needs to do is shoulder the responsibility for keeping that seat — and part of that responsibility is to get out of this race.” Senior advisors say the 81-year-old Biden may have mere days to mount a convincing display of his fitness for office before his party’s panic over his debate performance and anger about his response boil over, according to two people with knowledge who insisted on anonymity to more freely discuss the issue. In the meeting, Biden “was very clear that he’s in this to win.” Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings, a major Democratic donor, also called on the president to exit the race. He called it “concerning.” And even as other Democratic allies have remained quiet since Thursday’s debate, there is a growing private frustration about the Biden campaign’s response to his performance at a crucial moment in the campaign — particularly in the president waiting days to do direct damage control with senior members of his party. The Leadership Now Project, a group of business executives, academics and thought leaders, said in a letter that the “threat of a second Trump term” is great enough that Biden should “pass the torch of this year’s presidential nomination to the next generation of highly capable Democrats.” Trump’s campaign issued a statement noting that “every Democrat” now calling on the president “to quit was once a supporter of Biden.” Trump, 78, had a slight lead over the president in two polls of voters conducted after last week’s debate.