Washington, Jul 12 (PTI) Hakeem Jeffries, a top Democratic leader in the US Congress, said on Friday that he met President Joe Biden and conveyed a “full breadth of insight” about lawmakers’ concerns about his reelection prospects.
House Minority Leader Jeffries has been communicating with Democratic members of the House of Representatives, listening to their concerns about Biden after his “bad night” performance against his Republican rival Donald Trump at the June 27 presidential debate in Atlanta.
“On behalf of the House Democratic Caucus, I requested and was graciously granted a private meeting with President Joe Biden. That meeting occurred yesterday evening,” Jeffries said in a letter to his colleagues on Friday morning.
The top Democratic leader said he “directly expressed the full breadth of insight, heartfelt perspectives and conclusions about the path forward that the Caucus has shared in our recent time together.” It was not immediately clear if he asked the president to step down from the November 5, 2024 presidential race.
“Over the past several days, House Democrats have engaged in a thoughtful and extensive discussion about the future of our country during a time when freedom, democracy and the economic well-being of everyday Americans are on the line. Our discourse has been candid, clear-eyed and comprehensive,” Jeffries said.
“As House Democrats have done throughout this Congress, we will continue to work in the best interests of everyday Americans,” Jeffries said in his letter.
This comes amidst growing calls for 81-year-old Biden to step aside from the race for the White House in November since he stumbled through a TV debate with his Republican rival Trump last month.
So far, as many as 18 Democratic lawmakers have urged Biden to drop his reelection bid.
“Joe Biden saved our country once, and I’m joining the growing number of people in my district and across the country to ask him to do it again. Please pass the torch to one of our many capable Democratic leaders so we have the best chance to defeat Donald Trump,” Congresswoman Brittany Pettersen said in a statement on Friday.
A day earlier, Biden asserted that he will stay in the race and exuded confidence that he will defeat Trump in the presidential elections.
At a news conference on Thursday, after the NATO Summit, Biden said he is aware of such voices at the Congress.
“The idea that senators and congressmen are running for office worrying about the ticket is not unusual,” Biden argued, asserting that he will stay in the race to finish the job he has started.
“There were at least five presidents, running or incumbent presidents who had lower numbers than I have now later in a campaign. So there’s a long way to go in this campaign, and so I’m just going to keep moving, keep moving,” he said. PTI LKJ GRS AKJ GRS GRS
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