Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), national co-chair of President Biden’s reelection campaign, said Friday that Biden is “weighing up” who would be the best Democratic candidate to defeat former President Trump in November, indicating that Biden is carefully weighing the option of stepping aside for another candidate.
But Coons also emphasized that he thinks Biden would be the strongest choice to challenge Trump in the general election, and later posted a statement on social media declaring that Biden is “in it to win.”
“This is an internal party matter and a campaign issue that is being discussed publicly. I think our president is weighing what he should weigh, which is: who is the best candidate to win in November and to carry forward the values and priorities of the Democratic Party in this campaign?” Coons said at the Aspen Safety Forum.
He made his comments after a panel moderator discussed the factors Biden is considering when deciding how to proceed with his campaign amid calls from Democratic lawmakers to drop out of the race.
Coons reiterated his support for Biden and praised his record over the past three and a half years.
“He has been an exceptional president. He ran an effective campaign, he led effectively,” Coons said, citing Biden’s leadership at the NATO summit in Washington last week.
“He presided over… meeting after meeting, three days of the NATO summit – the strongest NATO has ever been – held a press conference, held campaign events, held campaign rallies, and there are people who still say he didn’t is strong enough or capable enough to be our next president. I disagree,” he said.
Coons, shortly after, posted a statement on social platform X, which appeared intended to dispel expectations that Biden might soon drop out of the race.
“I fully support the president. He told me he’s in it to win. I’m with him 100% because I know he can beat Trump just like he did last time,” he posted.
Biden’s campaign team on Friday tried to quell rumors that Biden would reconsider his decision to stay in the race.
“Absolutely, the president is in this race,” Jen O’Malley Dillon told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” in an interview Friday morning.
“You have heard directly from the president, time and time again: he is in this race to win and he is our candidate, and he will be our president for a second term,” she insisted when asked about reports that Biden may soon end his candidacy to re-election.
Alex Gangitano contributed.
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