The White House said Tuesday that nothing has changed since President Joe Biden's physician said he was "fit for duty" in February and that it was time to "turn the page" on questions about his mental fitness.
The assertions came a day after a sixth Democratic House member publicly called on Biden to drop his reelection bid and top Democratic strategist James Carville said it was "only a matter of time" before that happened.
During an afternoon news conference, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked whether presidential physician Kevin O'Connor's Feb. 28 assessment that Biden was "fit for duty" remained accurate in light of his admittedly poor debate performance against former President Donald Trump last month.
"It's still accurate," she said. "No exemptions, no accommodations."
Jean-Pierre also said there's a "long list of congressional members who have been very clear in support of this president" and noted that Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York said the Congressional Black Caucus was "united" behind Biden after a virtual meeting with him Monday night.
When asked about other influential Democrats, including Sens. Patty Murray of Washington and Dick Durbin of Illinois, who continued to harbor concerns over the debate, Jean-Pierre said, "Look, we respect people's opinion" before adding, "We do want to turn the page."
"We want to get to the other side of this. We want to continue doing the work and that's what the president is going to do," she said.
Her remarks came after Rep. Adam Smith of Washington on Monday acknowledged that he said during a Sunday conference call with Democratic leaders that he wanted Biden to quit his campaign.
"The president's performance in the debate was alarming to watch and the American people have made it clear they no longer see him as a credible candidate to serve four more years as president," Smith said in a statement.
Three other Democratic House members also privately voiced similar opinions during the conference call, according to the Washington Post, in addition to five who've done so publicly.
Carville's Monday prediction in the New York Times that Biden would be forced from the race came a day after another top Democratic strategist, David Axelrod, said Biden seemed "dangerously out of touch" and would "likely lose in a landslide" if he didn't drop out.
