President Biden says he would leave the 2024 race if polls showed he couldn’t win. Just last week, he said it would take the “Lord Almighty” for him to drop out.
The 81-year-old president faces calls from his party to step aside. Concerns about his ability to beat Trump and serve another term are growing.
In an hourlong press conference, Biden addressed these concerns. This came after the NATO summit in Washington, D.C. Questions mostly focused on his re-election.
A reporter asked if he would reconsider if Kamala Harris did better against Trump in polls. Biden responded, “No, unless they came back and said, there’s no way you can win. Me.”
In his trademark whisper, he added, “There’s no one saying that. No poll says that.”
Last week, he told George Stephanopoulos his fate was up to deities, not data. He said, “If the Lord Almighty comes down and tells me that, I might do that.”
Pressed again, he insisted, “If the Lord Almighty came down and said, ‘Joe, get outta the race,’ I’d get outta the race. The Lord Almighty’s not comin’ down.”
A new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll shows Biden two points ahead of Trump. But Trump is one point above Biden with third-party options. Both results are within the 3.1% margin of error.
Supporters praised Biden’s press conference. Rep. Steve Cohen said, “He showed a commanding and clear sense of foreign policy experience.”
But for others, it was too late. Three more House Democrats called on Biden to step aside, including Rep. Jim Himes.
As of Friday morning, 20 Congressional Democrats publicly called on Biden to drop out.