Biden team's calls stress unity, resolve: "No one is pushing me out"
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President Biden at last week's rally in Raleigh, N.C. Photo: Cornell Watson/Bloomberg via Getty Images
White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients held an all-staff call Wednesday in which he urged President Biden's team to unite and move forward from Biden's terrible debate performance last week.
Why it matters: The call — and one Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris had with their campaign staff Wednesday — took place as Biden's team is under increasing pressure from fellow Democrats over the president's fitness for office.
- "I am running," Biden said on that call, according to the White House's political director. "I am the leader of the Democratic Party. No one is pushing me out. I've been knocked down before and counted out my whole life."
The White House staff has been in turmoil in recent days, as many officials feel they have gotten only vague talking points and little explanation from senior leadership explaining what happened to the president at his debate against former President Trump.
- Zients' conference call — in which he told staffers that anyone could come to his office or email him to talk — was part of a larger effort to give them an avenue to vent their frustrations after a difficult week.
Driving the news: Zients urged staffers to see the June 27 debate in which Biden struggled as just "one night.... We all know is that he is a great president."
- Invoking the president's words at a rally after the debate, Zients said: "I know like millions of Americans know, when you get knocked down, you get back up."
Zients, a successful business executive before going into government, told staff he wanted to stress three points:
- "The first point is, head down. We gotta keep doing what we've been doing to get things done. Keep executing. There's a strong campaign team in place, and they're executing on their mission."
- "At the same time, hold your head high. There is so much the president has accomplished for the American people, and this team has accomplished so much."
- "We need to stay together as a team and have each other's back. The President and this team has been through the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. And you know what? That'll continue, and the only way we get through it is as a team."
What they're saying: One White House official on the call said they appreciated that Zients didn't try to tell people what to think about Biden's debate performance and rather looked forward.
- "I felt reassured that he understands how everyone feels," the official said.
