Biden campaign insists he is staying in 2024 race even as more Dems call for him to exit

Joe Biden's campaign chair, Jen O’Malley Dillon, said the president is "absolutely" still in the 2024 presidential race in an interview on MSNBC Friday morning.

O’Malley Dillon's appearance on "Morning Joe" follows a chaotic week for the president's reelection bid after top Democrats pressured Biden to exit the race and he tested positive for COVID-19. She said despite concerns, Biden is "more committed than ever" to beating former President Donald Trump, who became the official Republican nominee at the party's convention Thursday night. She added that while the president's positive test is taking him off the campaign trail at a pivotal moment in the election cycle, he will return to campaigning next week.

"Absolutely the president is in this race," she said. "Joe Biden is more committed than ever to beat Donald Trump, and we believe on this campaign we are built for the close election that we are in, and we see the path forward."

More: Brutal split screen: Biden holed up with COVID while Trump accepts nomination

She brushed aside reporting that Biden is considering dropping out of the race as "bad" stories about conversations "he is not having."

O’Malley Dillon said that as Biden recovers from COVID-19 in his Delaware home, his campaign has continued door-knocking. She said that of the 100,000 voters the team has talked to in battleground states this week, 76% are still with the president, 16% were undecided, and a small percentage were "not available to us."

"We have multiple pathways to victory," O’Malley Dillon said.

Several independent polls have shown Trump leading Biden nationally and in swing states since the first presidential debate.

Rachel Barber is a 2024 election fellow at USA TODAY, focusing on politics and education. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, at @rachelbarber_

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Biden will remain in race despite pressure, campaign chair says