US President Joe Biden arrives to deliver remarks regarding the attempted assassination of Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump at the White House on July 14, 2024 in Washington, DC.
Kevin Dietsch | Getty Images
Six more congressional Democrats, including a senator, called on President Joe Biden to drop out of the race on Friday, even as Biden’s campaign chairman brushed aside those calls, saying “Absolutely the president is in this race. ».
Despite campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon’s pledge, two people familiar with the situation told NBC News that Biden’s family members discussed what it would look like for him to drop out of the race against Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. if it does this. decision.
So far, 25 House Democrats and three Democratic senators have urged Biden to step down.
Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico became the third Democratic senator to oppose Biden’s continued candidacy, joining Jon Tester of Montana, who announced Thursday, and Peter Wells of Vermont.
The five House members who announced Friday that they want the party to pick a new candidate were Reps. Sean Casten and Chuy Garcia of Illinois, Jared Huffman of California, Marc Veasy of Texas and Mark Pocan of Wisconsin.
The new tally means more than 10 percent of the 213-member Democratic caucus has publicly called for Biden to step down.
O’Malley Dillion, in a statement responding to the new calls, said: “You have heard directly from the President time and time again: He is in this race to win, and he is our candidate and he will be our President for a second term.” .
Biden, who is self-isolating at his Delaware beach home with a Covid-19 infection, received a boost on Friday when the political action arm of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus endorsed the 81-year-old’s re-election bid.
“This November, we will harness the power of our community to defeat Donald Trump and his Project 2025 agenda and re-elect President Biden,” CHC Bold PAC said in a statement.
Earlier Friday morning, a Biden campaign memo obtained by NBC News said he would remain the Democratic nominee for president in November and that the party “does not have a plan for an alternate nominee.”
“While voters consistently cite President Biden’s age when communicating, our target voters – both re-attachment voters and true voters – still plan to vote for him, making it clear that the debate has not damaged support among voters that will decide this election,” he wrote. In the memo, Biden’s campaign manager, Dan Kaninen.
“He is the presumptive nominee, there is no plan for an alternate nominee. In a few weeks, Joe Biden will be the official nominee,” Kaninen wrote. “It’s time to stop fighting each other. The only person who wins when we fight is Donald Trump.”
During an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” O’Malley Dillon said, “I’m not here to say it hasn’t been a tough few weeks for the campaign.”
“There’s no question it was,” O’Malley Dillon said. “And we’ve certainly seen some slippage in support, but it’s been a small movement.”
He spoke after Casten’s Chicago Tribune op-ed called on Biden to drop out, but before the other four House Democrats joined in.
This is developing news. Check back for updates.
