President Biden is scheduled to hold two campaign stops in Pennsylvania on Sunday to bolster his desperate bid for reelection, which he says is a key battleground state.
Mr. Biden is scheduled to visit Philadelphia and then Harrisburg, where a growing number of Democrats across the ideological spectrum are calling for him to drop out of the race, citing concerns about his age and mental acuity.
Pennsylvania is one of the states Mr. Biden must almost certainly win if he wants to keep the White House, and its largest city, Philadelphia, is one of his favorite campaigning venues. But former President Donald J. Trump has been ahead in the state in many polls.
Mr. Biden won Pennsylvania in 2020, but Mr. Trump is now about 3 percentage points ahead of the president, according to the FiveThirtyEight polling average. Mr. Biden’s primary surrogate, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, spent Friday and Saturday campaigning in western Pennsylvania and Bucks County, where the battleground is fierce.
Mr. Biden was scheduled to speak at the National Education Association conference in Philadelphia on Sunday, but he backed out after workers from the powerful education union went on strike. Instead, he will speak at a church service in Northwest Philadelphia on Sunday morning.
“President Biden strongly supports unions and will not cross picket lines,” Biden campaign spokeswoman Lauren Hitt said in a statement.
After Philadelphia, Mr. Biden will travel to Harrisburg for a community organizing event with union members on Sunday afternoon. His campaign said he will be joined throughout the day by Gov. Josh Shapiro and Pennsylvania’s two senators, Bob Casey and John Fetterman, both Democrats.
Since his poor debate performance, in which he often lost track of his thoughts, Mr. Biden has largely focused on delivering his speech prepared on a teleprompter. Without the device, he has sometimes struggled to speak clearly.
This week, he stuttered during two radio interviews, despite his aides providing questions to the hosts, a practice that violates standard journalistic ethics, and he gave several confusing answers in an interview with ABC News on Friday.
Even Biden’s allies have said his campaign should make more public appearances to demonstrate his mental acuity without the need for a teleprompter.
“They don’t need scripted speeches,” said Steve Sisolak, a former Democratic governor of Nevada and a Biden supporter. “He needs to show people that he can be there, answer the tough questions, and engage with voters. Get out there, engage with your people.”
Despite skepticism from many Democrats, Mr. Biden has been adamant that he will remain in the race. On Friday, the president told ABC News that only “the Lord Almighty” could force him out.
