Joe Biden campaigns in battleground state as Democrats debate his future

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Joe Biden is campaigning in the crucial battleground state of Pennsylvania on Sunday as he seeks to convince voters he is fit for office, even as members of his own party debate whether he should be replaced as the Democratic presidential nominee.

Biden will make campaign stops in Philadelphia and Harrisburg, both large cities in states that Biden needs to win to retain control of the White House in November.

The appearances — including a speech at a Black church in Philadelphia and a union event in Harrisburg — are part of an intensified effort by the Biden campaign to ease growing concerns among Democrats alarmed by the 81-year-old candidate’s weak debate performance last week.

A high-profile interview on Friday night did little to ease their concerns as the president faced tough questions about his age and sanity.

On Sunday, Connecticut Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy told CNN that the interview wouldn’t be enough to convince voters.

“I personally like Joe Biden a lot, I don’t know if Friday night’s interview is enough to answer those questions,” Murphy said. “This week is going to be incredibly important. I think the president needs to do more.”

“Time is flying by,” he added.

Many Democratic lawmakers, party members and influential donors have called on Biden to postpone his re-election campaign after last week’s disastrous debate, and pressure is likely to increase this week as lawmakers return from a short recess.

The New York Times reported Friday that the top Democrat in the House, Hakeem Jeffries, will hold a conference call with senior House Democrats on Sunday to discuss Biden’s candidacy.

In the Senate, Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia will gather Democrats for a similar meeting on Monday, the Times reported.

Although Biden won Pennsylvania in 2020, Trump currently leads by 4.5 percentage points, according to the RealClearPolitics polling average.

During a roughly 20-minute interview on ABC on Friday, Biden dismissed polls that show him trailing Trump nationally and in key swing states that will decide the election.

“I don’t think there’s anyone more qualified to be president or to win this race than I am,” Biden said.

His campaign may take solace from a weekend poll that showed him leading Trump in the battleground states of Michigan and Wisconsin. The candidates are tied in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina, but the president is still trailing in Pennsylvania.

Rep. Adam Schiff of California said on NBC on Sunday that Biden’s debate performance “rightly raised questions among the American people about whether the president has the strength to defeat Donald Trump. And this is a race that is existential.”

“Given Joe Biden’s incredible record, given Donald Trump’s terrible record, he should wipe the floor with Donald Trump. Joe Biden is running against a criminal. It shouldn’t even be that close, and there’s only one reason it’s close. And that’s the age of the president.”

In a commentary for CNN over the weekend, David Axelrod, the architect of Barack Obama’s successful 2008 presidential campaign, warned that: “At this rate, Biden is likely to suffer a devastating defeat against a lawless and unpopular former president.”

“Denial. Illusion. Defiance,” he added.