White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declared Tuesday that President Joe Biden is “on fire” when asked about his recent blitz to coalesce support within the party following his disastrous debate performance late last month.
One reporter at Tuesday’s White Houe press briefing noted that Biden “has come out very aggressively in the past 24 hours” with his letter to House Democrats, calls with donors and the Congressional Black Caucus, and his call into MSNBC’s Morning Joe.
KJP: “[Biden] is ready, he's on fire, he's ready to go, and he wants to get out there and show he has more work to do.” pic.twitter.com/amu5mdAqYw
— Conservative War Machine (@WarMachineRR) July 9, 2024
“Was that his decision to step up that outreach,” she asked Jean-Pierre.
“Yes, it has been,” the press secretary responded. “He’s ready. He’s on fire. He’s ready to go, and he wants to get out there and continue to show that he has more work to do, right – he has more, more important issues for the American people to get done.”
“And so he wants to get out there. He always has, though. I mean, the last two-two and a half years, three years-three and a half years, he looks forward to getting out there, speaking directly to the American people,” she added.
She further said that Biden wants to “talk more to the press” and that the White House will “continue to create opportunities to do that.”
Jean-Pierre’s comments come as Biden has seen a swell in public support from prominent Democrats in recent days that has coincided with a surge in his odds of being the nominee in the betting market.
Leftist politicians, ranging from vulnerable senators running in red states to safe House Democrats in deep blue districts, have either refused to abandon Biden in recent days or have come out in support of him.
The likes of Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Bob Casey (D-PA), and Jon Tester (D-MT) refused to flip on the nominee on Monday, while Squad members in the House, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Ilhan Omar (D-MN), were vocal in backing him. The chairs of both the Congressional Black and Hispanic Caucuses also reaffirmed their support for Biden on Monday.
This is despite the concerns that some Democrat politicians have reportedly expressed in private settings or anonymously to the press.
While Polymarket favored Vice President Kamala Harris in betting odds last week over Biden at 49 percent and 38 percent, respectively, the president has become the clear odds-on favorite once again on the betting platform, Breitbart News noted. As of Tuesday afternoon, Polymarket gave Biden a 71 percent chance of being the nominee and Harris an 18 percent chance.
The indication is the effort to replace Biden is greatly sputtering as August’s Democrat convention in Chicago rapidly approaches.
“As someone who wanted the reckoning and is disappointed that it’s over, trust me: it’s over,” one Democrat representative told Axios Congressional reporter Andrew Solendar on Monday. The member added that “the dam is holding.”
