President Biden Faces Calls To Withdraw From Race As He Hosts NATO Summit, Rallies Democrats

President Joe Biden is working to project an air of confidence as he defiantly dismisses calls from some Democrats to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race. But those calls are expected to only grow more numerous as Congress returns this week from its July 4th recess.

It will be a busy and demanding week for President Biden: he’s hosting a 3-day NATO summit where he will be trying to convince U.S. allies to stay united behind Ukraine; on top of that, and perhaps more importantly, he’ll be trying to convince Democrats on Capitol Hill to stay united behind him.

On the campaign trail this past weekend in Pennsylvania, Biden tried to reassure supporters that he still has what it takes to beat Donald Trump a second time.

"I've been doing this a long time," Biden told a church congregation in Philadelphia, "I've never been as optimistic about our future -- if we stick together."

Biden's energetic delivery at his campaign stops was in sharp contrast to the 81-year-old's performance in the debate with Donald Trump last month -- a stumbling and unfocused effort that exacerbated concerns among many Democrats that Biden no longer possesses the mental fitness to run a vigorous campaign, much less hold office for another four years.

Still, most Biden allies in Congress are not yet ready to publicly call on him to drop out.

"Biden is old, he's not as articulate as he once was," said Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on Face the Nation Sunday. "I wish he could jump up the steps on Air Force One. He can't. What we have got to focus on is policy. Whose policies have and will benefit the vast majority of the people in this country?"

No Democrats or Independents in the Senate have yet called on Biden to end his candidacy, but a handful of members in the House have.

"He looks very frail, his voice is very soft, it's not robust," Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL) said on CNN. "Again, it is not how I perceive that, It's how the American people perceive it."

But with the Democratic National Convention six weeks away, Biden says it's critical the party come together now, behind him. That was part of his message in a letter he sent Monday morning to Democrats in Congress.

"[D]espite all the speculation in the press and elsewhere," Biden wrote, "I am firmly committed to staying in this race, to running this race to the end, and to beating Donald Trump."

But even with this week's important NATO summit going on in Washington, the talk about Biden's candidacy -- some of it in private, some out in the open -- is going to continue.

"And so this week is going to be absolutely critical," said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) in an interview. "I think the President needs to do more."

One potential opportunity for Biden to ‘do more’ to assuage members’ concerns will come Thursday when the President is scheduled to hold a rare solo news conference.