US House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (Brooklyn) on Friday appeared to stand by President Biden, even as the embattled commander-in-chief is facing mounting calls to step down as the party’s nominee in the November general election.
Without explicitly saying if he thinks Biden is the best person to lead the Democratic ticket, Jeffries said he is still the nominee while praising his White House track record.
“President Biden, as I’ve said repeatedly, is our nominee,” Jeffries told reporters, following an unrelated Friday news conference in Brooklyn. “He has a tremendous track record of success. He’s one of the most accomplished American presidents in our history. And he has the vision, I believe, the ability, the capacity and the track record, to make a case to the American people. That will result in us being successful in November.”
Jeffries’ comments come as a growing number of House Democrats are publicly urging him to step aside as the Democratic nominee, following a disastrous debate performance against former GOP President Donald Trump last month. In private, party leaders like Jeffries and his predecessor US Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-California) have reportedly expressed similar sentiments.
On Thursday the New York Times reported people close to Biden said he was beginning to accept that he may not be able to win in November and would have to exit the race.
However, Biden’s campaign said Friday that he will be back on the trail next week, after largely spending this week recovering from COVID-19 at his Delaware home.
During the news conference, Jeffires also pointed to what he says is the “tremendous contrast” between Biden and Trump that has been underlined by this week’s Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin this week. He said Biden, and Democrats at large, stand for lowering housing costs, growing the middle class, defending democracy and protecting women’s reproductive rights.
On the other hand, Jeffries said Republicans want to end Social Security, change “the fabric” of American society, make it harder for people to participate in elections and impose a national abortion ban.
“There’s a clear contrast between what President Biden and Democrats represent and what Republicans represent,” he said. “And I think the right thing to do, certainly over the next few days, in the immediate aftermath of the Republican National Convention, is for us to focus on driving that contrast.”
Jeffries also expressed confidence that Democrats would take back the House majority in November, even with Biden at the top of the ticket, an effort that requires flipping several seats in New York from red to blue.
“Democrats are going to take back the majority in November of this year,” he said. “Our task is simple, particularly here in New York. We’ve got to take back control that House of Representatives. We have opportunities in Long Island and the Hudson Valley and in central New York. And we’ve got to keep our eye on the prize as it relates to flipping those seats.”
Additional reporting by Gabriele Holtermann
