Biden meets union leaders as Democrats' calls to exit race continue

WASHINGTON - US President Joe Biden returns to the campaign trail on July 10, rallying the key constituency of labour leaders, as some fellow Democrats continue to urge him not to run again.

For the past 13 days, the 81-year-old has been working to stem defections from Democratic lawmakers, donors and other allies worried he might lose to Republican Donald Trump, 78, after Mr Biden's

halting June 27 debate performance.

The president will join the AFL-CIO’s executive council meeting in Washington on July 10 to take questions from leaders of major US labour unions and discuss “their shared commitment to defeating Donald Trump this November”, the Biden campaign said.

Labour votes were key to Mr Biden's win over Mr Trump in competitive states, including Michigan, Pennsylvania and Nevada, in 2020.

Democrats in the US Congress remain deeply divided over whether to fall in line behind Mr Biden or to urge him to step aside because of persistent questions about his health and acuity. Mr Biden has said he is fit to serve but understands the questions.

Ms Nancy Pelosi, former speaker of the House of Representatives, said on MSNBC on July 10 she was encouraging her colleagues on Capitol Hill to wait as Mr Biden

hosts Nato leaders in Washington this week.

“I’ve said to everyone: let’s just hold off. Whatever you’re thinking, either tell somebody privately, but you don’t have to put that out on the table until we see how we go this week,” she said, describing Mr Biden’s strong remarks at the Nati summit on May 9 as “spectacular”.

Still Ms Pelosi, a long-time ally of Mr Biden, declined to say definitively that she wanted Mr Biden to run.

“I want him to do what whatever he decides to do,” she said. “We’re all encouraging him to make that decision because time is running short.”

On July 9, Representative Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey became the seventh House Democrat to call on Mr Biden publicly to drop out of the race.

Many more Democrats have expressed concern that Mr Biden continuing at the top of the ticket could cost the party the White House and both houses of Congress in November.

But public defections remain a small segment of the 213 Democratic-aligned House members, and the party's leadership continues to back Mr Biden publicly.

No members of the Senate have publicly said Mr Biden should stand aside, though Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado said on July 9 he did not believe Mr Biden could beat Trump.

Mr Biden, eager to change the story, has surrounded himself with communities of his staunchest supporters, including Black Democratic lawmakers and voters. His campaign has framed sticking with Mr Biden as a return of the loyalty he has shown them through his half-century of public life.

Mr Biden's first 2020 campaign rally, in 2019, was at a Pittsburgh union hall, and the president has made his thick-as-thieves alignment with Big Labour leaders a major pillar of his populist economic platform. In September 2023, he became the first sitting president to join a union strike when he met United Auto Workers asking for raises.

Labour leaders expected at July 10’s meeting include the national presidents of 60 unions, representing 12.5 million Americans, Mr Biden’s aides said.

Mr Biden has used the Nato summit as a global stage, including his forceful speech denouncing Russian President Vladimir Putin. On July 10, he will hold meetings with Nato leaders and then host a dinner for heads of state.

The dinner would not normally draw much attention, but concerns over whether Mr Biden can handle the demands of the presidency for another four years have put every Mr Biden event in the spotlight.

Vice President Kamala Harris, who is the party's top alternative should Mr Biden drop his candidacy, will speak to the Black Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority in Dallas after a Las Vegas campaign stop on July 9.

After the Nato summit, Mr Biden will hit the road again, travelling to two of the competitive states, Michigan and Nevada, that he must sway to defeat Trump.

White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre faced another salvo of questions from reporters about Mr Biden's health on July 9. In a statement, the White House physician said Mr Biden was not being treated for any neurological condition and had received a clean bill of health at his most recent physical examination in February. REUTERS