As calls ring out for President Biden to step aside, the campaign hunkers down.

The president went on a media blitz over the weekend to quell the unrest among Democrats, appearing in a rare television interview with ABC News’s George Stephanopoulos on Friday. By Monday morning, Biden had sent a letter to congressional Democrats defiantly declaring his intentions to stay in the race and had called into MSNBC’s Morning Joe to sound off on “elites” in the party.

But with nine House Democrats now publicly and privately calling for Biden to step down, are the president’s efforts actually working? 

Senior political reporter Aaron Blake sits down with White House reporter Matt Viser to game out the campaign’s political calculations. What are the forces weighing on Biden’s decision-making? And if Biden backs down, is Vice President Harris really the heir apparent? 

Today’s show was produced by Laura Benshoff. It was edited by Reena Flores and Mary Jo Murphy. It was mixed by Rennie Svirnovskiy.

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