Key events
As pressure to drop out mounts, Biden campaigns in Pennsylvania with eye to reassuring Democrats
Good morning, US politics blog readers. More than a week has passed since Joe Biden’s weak performance in his first debate against Donald Trump, and things do not seem to have improved for the president. While the president has insisted he has no plans to abandon his re-election bid, the ranks of Democratic lawmakers and party luminaries calling for him to drop out continues to grow, albeit slowly. It’s anyone’s guess if that group will expand to include the veteran legislators considered most influential with the president – a group that includes the Senate’s Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, former House speaker Nancy Pelosi, and South Carolina congressman James Clyburn – but Biden is not staying idle. Today, he is traveling to Pennsylvania, a must-win swing state where he spent his childhood, and has two campaign events planned that will see him appear before supporters in Philadelphia, and the capital Harrisburg. As with just about everything Biden does in the wake of his tired appearance on the debate stage, these events will be opportunities to prove to the public that he has what it takes to continue serving as president for another four years. We’ll let you know how they go.
Here’s what else is going on:
-
Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic minority leader in the House of Representatives, reportedly plans to convene a meeting of top lawmakers today to discuss Biden’s campaign.
-
The Sunday talk shows have several Democratic representatives and senators booked, and they could use the opportunity to weigh in on if they think the president should withdraw.
-
Kamala Harris appeared in New Orleans yesterday amid speculation that she is poised to take over from Biden, if he abandons his campaign. Here’s how it went.
