President Joe Biden crashed a Zoom call with staffers on Wednesday to shore up morale and convince them that he’s not dropping out, per Politico.
The president hopped on a Wednesday call with his campaign and Democratic National Convention staff, citing anonymous staffers in the call.
Seated beside Vice President Kamala Harris, he told staffers that no one is “pushing him out” of the reelection bid.
“Let me say this as clearly as I possibly can — as simply and straightforward as I can: I am running,” he said on the call, per Politico.
He added: “I’m not leaving. I’m in this race to the end, and we’re going to win.”
Harris echoed his sentiments, saying their team will not back down, and will “follow our president’s lead.”
“We will fight, and we will win,” she said, per Politico.
Biden’s efforts to consolidate support from his team come as he faces mounting pressure to step away from the race following his disastrous debate performance on June 27.
On Wednesday, a second Democratic lawmaker, Rep. Raúl Grijalva of Arizona, publicly called for Biden to quit. Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas was the first, calling on the president to step down on Tuesday.
A House Democratic aide told Reuters on Tuesday that 25 Democrats are preparing to call Biden to quit the race.
Biden’s debate performance has also spooked donors. A longtime Democratic donor, Whitney Tilson, wrote on X on Saturday that he felt “deceived” by Biden’s poor showing.
“If the man I saw at the debate is the real Joe Biden right now, then it would be a waste of my time and money to support him because he has almost no chance of beating Trump,” Tilson wrote.
Representatives for Biden didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider sent outside regular business hours.
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