(NewsNation) — President Joe Biden raised money and tried to calm fears in multiple appearances Saturday, while many top donors expressed concern over Biden’s status as the Democratic nominee following his poor debate performance on Thursday.
“I didn’t have a great night, but I’m going to be fighting harder,” Biden told attendees at a private fundraiser at the Red Bank, New Jersey home of Gov. Tim Murphy.
“Donald Trump is a genuine threat to the nation,” Biden emphasized, saying that his predecessor would undermine democracy if returned to the White House and his economic ideas would worsen inflation.
Biden and his wife, Jill, also attended two private events in East Hampton, New York at the home of Avram Glazer, an owner of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the home of investor Barry Rosenstein.
Public calls to quit the race; family meeting
The fundraisers came a day after The New York Times called on Biden to quit the race. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution made the same call in a front-page editorial for Sunday’s paper. But the Philadelphia Inquirer published an editorial calling on former President Donald Trump to quit his campaign.
And there are hints that the president is taking the public and private concerns to heart. The Biden family will get together Sunday at Camp David, a source tells NewsNation. That source says the president, first lady and others are expected to discuss the state of the campaign.
NBC quotes “five people familiar with the matter” in a similar report, saying the discussion will focus on “the future” of the campaign. A Biden official disputed the notion that the first family is doing anything more than having a family gathering.
“The premise of the story is not accurate,” a Biden official told reporters traveling with the president on Air Force One.
DNC Chair spins, donors share concerns
As Biden raised money and promised to continue the campaign, Democratic National Committee Jaime Harrison held a call with dozens of committee members across the country, a group of some of the most influential members of the party. He did not acknowledge Biden’s weak showing Thursday night or the avalanche of criticism that followed.
Multiple committee members on the call, granted anonymity to talk about the private discussion, described feeling like they were being gaslighted – that they were being asked to ignore the dire nature of the party’s predicament. The call, they said, may have worsened a widespread sense of panic among elected officials, donors and other stakeholders.
The Biden campaign also released a memo Saturday that said Biden’s poor showing in Thursday night’s presidential debate “did not change the horse race.”
“Flash polls from CNN, 538, SurveyUSA, Morning Consult, and Data for Progress show what we expected: The debate did not change the horse race,” Biden campaign Chair Jen O’Malley Dillon said in the memo. “This mirrors what the campaign’s internal post-debate polling showed: The president maintained his support among his 2020 voters and voters’ opinions were not changed.”
But not everyone in the party is buying it.
Democratic donors across New York, Southern California and Silicon Valley privately expressed deep concerns about the viability of Biden’s campaign. They even discussed a short list of possible replacements, including Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Trump his social media, lawmakers talk 25th
Trump was off the campaign trail Saturday but was busy on his social media platform.
“This past Thursday night was a defeat not only for Biden but for the entire Radical Left Democrat Party and the Fake News Media who have been lying to the American People as our Country was being destroyed,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
“The whole world should know that while Biden is the worst president in the history of our Country, America will be strong again, and very soon!”
Trump surrogates aren’t waiting for Biden to voluntarily step aside. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., called on the cabinet to remove Biden from office under the provisions of the 25th Amendment.
“If Biden cannot speak coherently, articulate his policies, and is unfit to perform after weeks of preparation, how will he perform when America is truly tested?” Tillis wrote in a letter to his Senate GOP colleagues on Friday.
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, added that he would file a resolution calling on Harris and the Cabinet to declare Biden incapable of fulfilling his presidential duties.
The Hill and The Associated Press contributed to this report.