Joe Biden held a face-to-face meeting with Kamala Harris on Wednesday, as more polls showed him losing ground to Donald Trump and speculation swirled about the vice-president replacing him in the White House race.
Biden’s closed-door lunch with Harris at the White House came hours before the president met more than 20 influential Democratic governors, including California governor Gavin Newsom, Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer and Illinois governor JB Pritzker, who are seen as possible successors if the president withdraws from the race.
The talks with key Democrats came days after the president’s disastrous debate performance sparked panic in the party about his fitness for office and ability to beat Trump in this year’s election. The White House and Biden campaign have insisted that the president will remain in the race.