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The US President Joe Biden, currently facing one of the worst crises of his decade-long political career after a subpar debate performance against his GOP rival Donald Trump last week, is not considering stepping down from the race, his press secretary said Wednesday.

 

Biden, 81, is increasingly receiving calls from Democratic Party leaders and editorial boards of mainstream American media to step down from the presidential race and let others from the party lead them in the November 5 elections. So far, he has resisted these calls.

 

“Is President Biden considering stepping down in the race?” reporters asked White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre during her daily news conference.

 

“Absolutely not. And you heard, I believe directly from the campaign as well,” she said amid a volley of similar questions from White House reporters.

“Given the groundswell of concern from fellow Democrats, from donors, from supporters, doesn't he owe it to the American public to reflect on whether he should step down?” she was asked again.

 

“He’s done it a couple times at this point and laid out what happened that night, talked about how he understands, and it was not his best night,” Jean-Pierre said.

 

“He understands that it is fair for people to ask that question, but we cannot forget his record and what he's been able to do. We cannot forget how he has been able to deliver for the American people for almost four years,” the press secretary said.

 

“That matters too, and he has the most historic record of administration, the most in modern politics and that should matter. And he wants to continue to do that work. And a lot of what’s on his agenda is very much popular with the majority of the American people, whether it’s continuing to build a strong economic policy,” she asserted.

 

Asked if there are any discussions about the vice president assuming Biden's duties, she again said, “Absolutely not.”

 

“What I can say is the president is moving forward… And that is the president’s focus,” the press secretary said.

 

“The president’s focus is how does he continue to do that work. And anything else that we're hearing or that's being reported is absolutely false,” Jean-Pierre added.