Joe Biden is set to discuss the future of his re-election campaign on Sunday with his family at Camp David, reports say.
The development, first reported by NBC News Saturday night, come days after his disastrous presidential debate.
There, the commander-in-chief faced off with Donald Trump, stumbling over his words and losing his train of thought multiple times.
While Biden’s trip to the 125-acre country retreat in the hills of Maryland was planned ahead of Thursday’s shocking performance, the getaway will serve as a break in the campaign trail with his children and grandchildren.
Biden’s retreat comes as his team keeps insisting that the idea of him dropping out of the race would only ‘lead to weeks of chaos,’ calling the concern of several Democrats the work of ‘bedwetting brigade.’
President Joe Biden is set to discuss the future of his re-election campaign Sunday – with his family at Camp David. Camp David is a 125-acre country retreat located in northern Maryland. Biden is seen walking to board Air Force One on Saturday night in New Jersey
‘Any discussion about the campaign is expected to be informal or an afterthought, a source told NBC News. ‘No one is sitting down for a formal or determinative discussion.’
‘That is the best possible way for Donald Trump to win and us to lose,’ Biden’s deputy campaign manager Rob Flaherty argued in an email after the president’s latest Hamptons visit, which saw the president being faced with people holding signs bearing the same message: drop out.
‘First of all: Joe Biden is going to be the Democratic nominee, period. End of story. Voters voted. He won overwhelmingly,’ Flaherty went on.
‘And if he were to drop out, it would lead to weeks of chaos, internal foodfighting, and a bunch of candidates who limp into a brutal floor fight at the convention, all while Donald Trump has time to speak to American voters uncontested.’
He added: ‘All of that would be in service of a nominee who would go into a general election in the weakest possible position with zero dollars in their bank account.
‘You want a highway to losing? It’s that.’
His adamant email came after a plane bearing a banner reading ‘BI-DONE!’ was spotted flying high over the high-profile Hamptons fundraiser in the afternoon.
‘Spotted flying over East Hampton this evening…’ Trump tweeted in response.
At the event, the first couple were rubbing shoulders with a slew of moneyed donors – as the Times reported several ‘megadonors’ in Silicon Valley were trying to reach the first lady to sway her to convince Biden to bow out in favor of a younger candidate.
There, a plane reportedly deployed by a rival Republican donor, brandished a banner bearing the pointed message ‘Bi-done!’ – an apparent jab at the president’s chances following his poor debate performance
Hours earlier, Biden and First Lady Jill arrived on Marine One at East Hampton Airport, for a fundraiser attended by several wealthy donors
‘Spotted flying over East Hampton this evening…’ Trump tweeted afterwards, as he continues to come out fighting against his aging rival despite uncertainty surrounding his own court cases
On Friday, Biden continued to defend his cognizance his debate performance the day before, speaking out at a rally in North Carolina. There, he told onlookers that he was still the party’s best bet at beating Trump, despite what millions saw on TV.
‘I know I’m not a young man, I don’t walk as easy as I used to, I don’t speak as smoothly as I used to, I don’t debate as well as I used to.
‘But I know what I do know,’ he continued, before receiving a round of uproarious applause.
‘I know how to tell the truth. I know right from wrong. I know how to do this job. I know how to get things done.’
‘I know, like many of Americans know, when you get knocked down, you get back up,’ he concluded.
Afterward, an email from Biden’s team sent to supporters continued to defend the president, claiming that his dropping out would only ‘lead to weeks of chaos’
Biden has not only had to defend his continued candidacy among worried Democrats, but the media as well.
In an editorial over the weekend, the New York Times beseeched Biden to step aside.
In addition, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution wrote that ‘retirement is now necessary’ for the 81-year-old incumbent – asking him to pass the torch to a more competent candidate.
Meanwhile, several concerned aides on Saturday told Axios how the commander-in-chief should step down.
‘This is no longer about Joe Biden’s family or his emotions,’ one fed-up adviser in told the publication. ‘This is about our country. It’s an utter f***ing disaster that has to be addressed.’
Experts, meanwhile, have said the decision is ultimately up to president this late in the game, despite reportedly being too tired to work past 4 pm and struggling to wake before 10 am.
In an editorial over the weekend, the New York Times beseeched Biden to step aside, and several concerned aides on Saturday told Axios how the commander-in-chief should step down.
One Democratic House member who spoke to NBC News for its Saturday night piece about how the president will use the visit to reassess his reelection bid said they too believe Biden should drop out, but has yet to call for that publicly.
They said three colleagues expressed the same sentiment during votes on the House floor on Friday, as Biden continued to defend himself in North Carolina.
Members of the house have also not wavered publicly, and their aides have also rejected the idea they are having second-thoughts behind closed doors.
‘Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi has full confidence in President Biden and looks forward to attending his inauguration on January 20, 2025,’ Ian Krager, a spokesman for the former House speaker said.
‘Any suggestion that she has engaged in a different course of action is simply not true.’
Christie Stephenson, a spokesperson for Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader, similarly added that her boss has ‘made clear publicly and privately that he supports President Joe Biden and the Democratic ticket from top to bottom.’
Brianna Frias, a spokeswoman for South Carolina’s Jim Clyburn, said the rep ‘has total confidence in President Joe Biden and the Biden-Harris ticket.’
‘Any reports alleging that the Congressman has expressed anything other than firm support of President Biden are completely untrue,’ she told NBC News.
Experts, meanwhile, have said the decision is ultimately up to president this late in the game, despite reportedly being too tired to work past 4 pm and struggling to wake before 10 am. In North Carolina Friday, he insisted he was still the party’s best bet at beating Trump
That said, the Democrats could be giving the president space as he mulls his next steps, with Camp David appearing to be a critical juncture in this decision making process as insiders say First Lady Jill holds the most influence out of her husband’s inner circle.
‘The decision-makers are two people — it’s the president and his wife,’ one of the sources familiar with the discussions told NBC News of this already known dynamic.
They added: ‘Anyone who doesn’t understand how deeply personal and familial this decision will be isn’t knowledgeable about the situation.’
Another person familiar with the matter echoed the idea Biden will only listen to his wife of almost 50 years, telling the station, ‘The only person who has ultimate influence with him is the first lady.
‘If she decides there should be a change of course, there will be a change of course.’
The statements echoed those from insiders aired earlier in the day, after The New York Times reported that in private, she viewed Biden’s bumbling faceoff with his old rival as merely ‘a bad night.’
In the interim, Biden’s top aides have told his staff to stay strong in meetings, airing the mission statement, ‘We’ll weather the storm, just like we always have,’ according to one senior administration official who spoke to NBC News
In the interim, Biden’s top aides have told his staff to stay strong in meetings, airing the mission statement, ‘We’ll weather the storm, just like we always have,’ according to one senior administration official.
The Democratic National Committee’s official procedures for the convention, adopted in 2022, give the committee the authority to choose a new candidate if either member of the ticket dies or withdraws.
Biden also has the power to bow out of the race himself – by releasing all the pledged delegates he has accumulated.
That’s 3,894 of 3,937 so far, according to a tally by The Associated Press.
