White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stood firm in front of reporters Wednesday, stating that President Biden will "absolutely not" drop out of the 2024 presidential race following his poor performance during the CNN debate with Donald Trump, which prompted some Democrats to demand he step aside.
Jean-Pierre made the statement while answering questions in front the White House press corps. When asked pointedly by a reporter if President Biden is considering stepping down, Sec. Jean-Pierre gave the equally pointed answer, 'absolutely not'.
"Given the groundswell of concern from fellow Democrats, from donors, from supporters", the reporter asked, "doesn't he owe it to the American public to reflect on whether he should step down?"
"He has had the opportunity to talk to supporters," Jean-Pierre responded, adding that the president has "talked about how he understands that [the debate] was not his best night and that it is fair for people to ask that question."
"He has the most historic record and administration in modern politics. That should matter and he wants to continue to do that work."
Democrats have been sounding the alarm calling for Biden to step down as the nominee in the 2024 Presidential race following his disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump, which left many wondering about the President's mental acuity.
On Tuesday, a Texas congressman and a representative from Maine became the first elected Democrats to call for President Biden to abandon his reelection bid.
Rep. Lloyd Doggett cited Biden's performance during last week's presidential debate.
"My decision to make these strong reservations public is not done lightly nor does it in any way diminish my respect for all that President Biden has achieved," Doggett said. "Recognizing that, unlike Trump, President Biden's first commitment has always been to our country, not himself, I am hopeful that he will make the painful and difficult decision to withdraw. I respectfully call on him to do so."
Later the same day, Representative Jared Golden of Maine publicly declared he had no confidence in Biden, also citing the President's 'poor performance' at the debate. "Biden's poor performance in the debate was not a surprise," Golden wrote in an op-ed for the Bangor Daily News. "It also didn't rattle me as it has others, because the outcome of this election has been clear to me for months: While I don't plan to vote for him, Donald Trump is going to win. And I'm OK with that."
