The Biden family will reportedly have talks with President Joe Biden Sunday at Camp David over the future of the Democratic Party’s 2024 presidential ticket, according to sources who spoke to NBC News.
Democrats have been in disarray since the president’s Thursday debate performance, which triggered conversations about staging an intervention to replace Biden on the ballot ahead of November. Despite the Biden campaign’s insistence that the Democratic incumbent will move forward with his reelection bid, Biden is reportedly set to meet with First Lady Jill Biden, his children and his grandchildren to discuss this matter. The Biden family was expected to arrive late Saturday, NBC News reported.
“The only person who has ultimate influence with him is the first lady,” one source familiar with Biden told the outlet. “If she decides there should be a change of course, there will be a change of course.”
The Biden family’s rendezvous was scheduled before Thursday’s CNN debate, according to NBC News. The source emphasized that “any decision about the campaign is expected to be informal or an afterthought.”
“It’s a mess,” another source told NBC News.
One Biden official who spoke at the tarmac of McGuire Air Force Base Saturday refuted the “premise” of NBC’s report, calling the outlet’s story “not accurate,” according to Washington Post reporter Tyler Pager’s pool report. Officials said the president and his family are “taking a family photo at Camp David,” and one mentioned that “there is nothing more to” the trip that has been “on the schedule for weeks.”
Joe Biden’s family will gather at Camp David Sunday and the campaign is expected to be discussed, a source confirms to @newsnation. Source says while they are expected to talk about the campaign that discussion will be more informal-not formal meeting. NBC first reported.
— Kevin Bohn (@KevinBohn) June 30, 2024
The official Biden campaign account on social media also addressed the Biden family’s travels Saturday evening, stating that the trip was “announced a week ago.”
Yeah, no. This was announced a week ago. Joe Biden is and will be the Democratic nominee. https://t.co/wVDDKPDzVZ pic.twitter.com/5hYnZPzjJU
— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) June 30, 2024
“Yeah, no. This was announced a week ago,” the Biden-Harris account wrote with a screenshot of a press release from June 23. “Joe Biden is and will be Democratic nominee.”
The Biden campaign reportedly held a conference call Saturday with members of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), and one Biden official assured “we’re driving this,” NBC News reported. (RELATED: The One Cable News Host Biden Loves To Watch Says Debate Performance Was The ‘Worst In Modern Political History’)
A Biden campaign fundraising email tonight included a polling graphic comparing Biden vs. Trump to potential alternatives, including
Harris
Buttigieg
Booker
Newsom
Whitmer
Klobuchar
Shapiro
PritzkerThe inclusion of the information feels more revealing the info itself. pic.twitter.com/EoIFfS0Iou
— Shane Goldmacher (@ShaneGoldmacher) June 30, 2024
“Democrats need to take a big breath and look at that polling, look at swing voters,” one state Democratic Party chair told the outlet. “Until I see something differently, he’s the person that’s put this coalition together, he’s the person that has the record, he’s the person that beat Donald Trump. Until I see something differently, he’s still the best person to beat Donald Trump.”
Prominent Democrats like former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, former President Barack Obama and California Gov. Gavin Newsom have continued to publicly support Biden despite the internal and external turmoil that surrounds the president.
“We need to have as much discipline as emotion,” one senior Democratic official told NBC News. “It’s not politically smart for Biden to step down.”
