Biden mounts counter-offensive over debate media hysteria, calls top Dems, tells staff back to work

With Democrats and their media allies in hysteria and a nomination clock ticking, President Joe Biden launched a counteroffensive Wednesday to salvage his faltering reelection campaign by calling lawmakers and party leaders while dispatching his top White House aide to implore staff to get back to the business of governing and tune out the criticism of his debate performance last week.

A senior Democrat close to the president told Just the News that while Biden recognizes the next few days are crucial to his election chances he is not inclined to step aside and was spending personal capital built during a half century of politics to push back against a growing chorus suggesting he should yield the nomination to a younger Democrat.

Biden's counteroffensive included making phone calls with party leaders and Democrats in Congress, sitting for an interview with ABC News anchor George Stephanopolous set to air Friday and dispatching White House chief of staff Jeff Zienst to an all-hands-on-deck meeting to assure staff the Biden presidency wasn't ending.

The message, an aide told Just the News, was pointed: Get back to governing and don't indulge in the hysteria.

The goal, including public events over the extended Fourth of July holiday was to show Biden is still in charge despite his halting, mumbling and fumbling performance at last Thursday's debate.

Aides said Biden will acknowledge getting older comes with challenges but none are keeping him from making decisions.

The Biden campaign made a similar statement public after the Washington-based news outlet Axios quoted anonymous Democrats in Congress suggesting they were no longer sure who was running the White House and wanted House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries or Senate Leader Chuck Schumer to make a personal appeal for Biden to step aside.

Campaign spokesperson Lauren Hitt said the president had spoken with "multiple elected officials on the Hill and across the battlegrounds" to address concerns.