Biden 'staying in' 2024 race as another Democrat calls on president to quit

President Joe Biden is "absolutely not" considering dropping out of the presidential race, despite his dismal performance during the first debate against Donald Trump, the White House has said.

"He understands that it is fair for people to ask that question," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told media on Wednesday. "The president is clear-eyed, and he is staying in the race."

She added she "cannot lay out something that would change the president's mind."

Biden dialled into a call with worried members of his campaign team and told them he wasn't going anywhere, according to AP news agency, citing sources.

"Let me say this as clearly as I possibly can, as simply and straightforward as I can: I am running … no one's pushing me out," Biden said on a call with staffers from his reelection campaign.

"I'm not leaving. I'm in this race to the end, and we're going to win."

White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients held a call with demoralised White House staff on Wednesday as well, acknowledging that it had been a challenging few days while stressing that the Biden team had a record to be proud of and more work to do.

On Wednesday, Representative Raul Grijalva became the second Democratic lawmaker to publicly call on Biden to withdraw from the presidential race following his poor performance in last week’s debate against Donald Trump.

"If he's the candidate, I'm going to support him, but I think that this is an opportunity to look elsewhere," Grijalva told The New York Times.

On Tuesday, Congressman Lloyd Doggett became the first Democratic lawmaker to publicly call on Biden to make way for another candidate, saying he was hopeful the president would "make the painful and difficult decision to withdraw."

Other options

Meanwhile a poll conducted by SSRS for CNN has found that three-quarters of voters — including more than half of Democratic voters — said the party has a better chance of winning the presidency in November with a candidate other than Biden.

About 7 in 10 voters, and 45 percent of Democrats, said Biden's physical and mental ability is a reason to vote against him, according to the poll.

And about 6 in 10 voters, including about one-quarter of Democrats, said reelecting Biden would be a risky choice for the country rather than a safe one, according to a New York Times/Siena College poll.

That poll found that Democrats were split on whether Biden should remain the nominee.

On the topic of replacing Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris is the likely successor if Biden does step aside, sources told the Reuters news agency.

However, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, California Governor Gavin Newsom, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear have all been mentioned as possible replacements for Biden if he decides to bow out as the 2024 candidate.