Joe Biden's campaign has been clear that the President is moving forward and there are "absolutely not" discussions of suspending his campaign, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Wednesday just hours after the New York Times reported Biden told an ally he was weighing whether or not to stay in the race.
According to the Times reporting, Biden had a conversation with an unnamed "key ally," who was quoted as saying the president knew he needed to quickly reassure the public he can still do the job.
The Times reporting is the first indication the President has questioned his capability to run for reelection since his disappointing debate performance last week.
CNN also reported that Biden had privately acknowledged to an ally that the next stretch was critical to whether he could save his reelection bid.
"The polls are plummeting, the fundraising is drying up, and the interviews are going badly. He’s not oblivious," CNN quoted the ally as saying.
Jean-Pierre dismissed the Times' reporting as "absolutely false."
"The President is clear-eyed and he is staying in the race," Jean-Pierre said. "I don't have anything else beyond that. He's staying in the race. That is what the President is promised to do, that is what he wants to continue, to work on the successes that he's had."
Jean-Pierre confirmed that Biden spoke with leading Democrats and allies including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Rep. Jim Clyburn, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), who since the debate expressed surprise and concern in the president's lack of communication with them.
Jean-Pierre confirmed that Biden's Chief of Staff Jeffrey Zients held an all-staff call on Wednesday to "gather the team across the building" and "acknowledge what the President said himself, that the last few days have been challenging."
Again on Wednesday, Jean-Pierre's acknowledgements of the disastrous debate and its aftermath were abutted by touting Biden's policy record.
Jet Lag and a Cold
On Tuesday, Biden and the White House offered different explanations for his poor debate performance.
While the White House chalked up Biden's often expressionless state and confusing answers on the debate stage to a cold for which he was not medicated, Biden told donors he blamed two overseas trips earlier in June for leaving him jet lagged.
Biden traveled to France and Italy during two separate trips in the space of two weeks last month, flying overnight from the Group of Seven summit in Bari, Italy, to appear at a fundraiser with former President Barack Obama in Los Angeles on June 15 before returning to Washington the following day.
"Didn’t listen to my staff and came back and nearly fell asleep on stage," he said. "That's no excuse but it is an explanation.”
On Wednesday, Jean-Pierre said that she knew jet lag and Biden's schedule played a role in his performance when addressing reporters on Tuesday but was focused on the cold and that's what she "leaned into."
"His schedule did have something to do with it. It was the schedule and the cold," she said. "And I was aware of that yesterday."
Jean-Pierre said the Biden administration has been one of the most transparent when it comes to releasing medical records but that it's not the norm to bring White House Doctor Kevin O'Connor to the briefing room podium, as reporters in the room requested.
On Tuesday the White House said that O'Connor traveled with Biden to the debate and on Wednesday Jean-Pierre said the President was not evaluated by the doctor prior to the debate despite having a cold.
According to Jean-Pierre, who saw Biden on Wednesday with Vice President Kamala Harris, the President "looked great" and is in a "great mood."
Jean-Pierre called Biden as "sharp as ever as I have known him to be" in her experience working with him.
Damage Control Continues
Biden will be under intense scrutiny for the remainder of the week as he hosts active military members for Fourth of July celebrations at the White House, makes a campaign stop in the critical battleground state Wisconsin and sits for a primetime interview with ABC which Jean-Pierre pointed out is "not scripted."
Jean-Pierre said Biden wants to acknowledge what happened but he also wants to move forward.
"He also knows that he's the President of the United States, so he has to continue to work and deliver on behalf of the American people," she said. "That's what he has to continue to do. And that's how he's going to move forward."