President Joe Biden appeared at a Black church in the key battleground state of Pennsylvania on Sunday, hoping to rally union members and demonstrate the strength of his reelection campaign enough to quell growing calls within his own party for him to drop out of the race.
Biden urged his supporters to stick together and support him at a rousing church service, where the pastor cited Biblical teachings, declared “we must never abandon Joseph” and blamed growing pressure from some Democrats for him to give up on reelection on jealousy.
Speaking on stage at the Mount Airy Church of God in Christ in Northwest Philadelphia, the 81-year-old Biden laughed off concerns about his age, joking, “I know I look 40, but I’ve been doing this for a long time.”
His remarks came after Pastor Lewis Felton likened Biden to Joseph, telling the biblical story of his “man of many colors,” a man sold into slavery in Egypt by jealous brothers but eventually rising to a high position in Pharaoh’s kingdom and begging for his help, without initially recognizing him.
“Never underestimate Joseph,” Felton pleaded. Referring to Democrats calling on Biden to step down, he said, “That’s what’s happening, Mr. President. People are jealous of you. They’re jealous of your tenacity. They’re jealous of your favor. They’re jealous of God’s hand in your life.”
Biden appeared after taking part in a conference call with campaign surrogates on Saturday to reiterate that he has no plans to step down and called for unity among Democratic leaders.
But he also listened to concerns and feedback, according to the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.
The president, on the call, promised to step up his campaign efforts, taking to the streets more frequently to take his message more directly to voters. He attended a service at the Mount Airy Church of God in Christ in Northwest Philadelphia before traveling to the state capital, Harrisburg, where he spoke at an organizing event with labor union members and local Democrats.
U.S. President Joe Biden stands in the back row, second from the right, during a service at the Mount Airy Church of God in Christ in Philadelphia on Sunday (Manuel Balce Senator/The Associated Press)
The focus may shift to Russia’s war with Ukraine rather than questions about Biden’s reelection campaign, but the 81-year-old Biden’s political position remains precarious.
Five Democratic senators have called on Trump to give up re-election ahead of November, and more are likely to do so in the coming days when Congress reconvenes.
The in-person meeting would give Democrats a chance to discuss concerns about whether Biden can survive the remaining four months of the campaign, and even whether he can remain in the White House for another four years and truly defeat former Republican President Donald Trump.
The president’s campaign has announced a $50 million (£39 million) advertising offensive this month, aimed at high-profile occasions such as the Olympics in Paris. But Biden’s campaign is quietly preparing for calls for him to drop out of the race in the coming days, trying to thwart further defections with conference calls with surrogates and calls and emails to politicians.
Biden received a boost over the weekend from House Speaker Emeritus Nancy Pelosi and other leading Democrats who had previously expressed doubts but have now moved to support him, including Representative James Clyburn of South Carolina. Still, the short-term picture is especially important with the Democratic National Convention approaching.
Since Biden’s disastrous debate defeat late last month, donors, strategists, politicians and voters have been urging Democrats to remove Biden as a top contender before it’s too late. Friday’s interview with ABC failed to convince some skeptics that Biden can revive the race.
Speaking on CNN on Sunday, Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, said Biden “needs to answer the questions that voters have,” but added that “if he does that this week, he’ll be in a very good position and we can get this campaign back to where it needs to be.”
Murphy also said he wasn’t sure whether a cognitive ability test would “make a difference” to voters worried about Biden’s declining approval rating. In an interview Friday, Biden refused to take such a test, saying the day-to-day rigors of the presidency were proof enough of his mental acuity.
But Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., told NBC that he would be “happy if the president and Donald Trump took a cognitive test.” Trump has said at his campaign rallies that Biden should take such a test, bragging about his own mental and physical stamina.
Schiff said whether the president continues to run the campaign “depends on what Joe Biden thinks is best,” and that Biden could “fight tooth and nail” to defeat Trump, but “if he decides to pass the baton, the president should do everything in his power to help the other candidate succeed.”
It could also send a message to members of the Congressional Black Caucus, whose support the president would need to quell a potential insurrection at the Capitol.
At the Essence Festival of Culture in New Orleans on Saturday, Biden received an enthusiastic endorsement from four members of his congressional delegation, including Rep. Joyce Beatty of Ohio, who told attendees, “Don’t turn your back on this president and go out.”
California Democratic Representative Maxine Waters, 85, received a standing ovation when she declared, “People say Joe Biden is too old. No, I’m older than Biden!”
“There’s not going to be another Democratic candidate,” Waters said. “We should be well aware of that.”
