Here is the situation and what will happen next.

It’s been a week since Joe Biden’s troubling debate performance, and while he continues to assert he won’t drop out of the 2024 race, the president faces an uphill battle to reassure some within his own party that he still has what it takes to beat former President Trump in November.

Biden met with Democratic governors on Wednesday, and many of the top leaders have publicly endorsed him. Two Democratic members of Congress, however, have called on the president to withdraw, as has one of the party’s top donors. Here’s a rundown of where things stand now and what lies ahead.

Trump falsely claims Biden is ‘dropping out of the race’

The Daily Beast obtained a video of Trump sitting in a golf cart and bragging about his debate performance.

“I got Biden out of the race and that means we have Kamala,” he said, though Biden maintained he has no plans to step aside. “Look at that pile of old, dilapidated garbage.”

“Can you imagine that guy dealing with (Russian President Vladimir) Putin? And the president of China, who is a fierce person,” Trump said, referring to Chinese President Xi Jinping.

In the video, Trump also called Harris “pathetic.”

Trump allies have stepped up public attacks on Harris amid speculation she could be the leading choice to replace Biden on the ticket. Privately, the Trump campaign is reportedly reveling in the chaos. “Chaos is our friend,” a Trump source told CNN.

On Thursday, Biden assured supporters that he plans to stay in the race. “Nobody is kicking me out,” the 81-year-old president said on Wednesday’s call with campaign and Democratic National Committee staff. “I’m not leaving.”

Closed-door meeting with Democratic governors

In a private meeting Wednesday night with more than 20 Democratic governors, Biden and Harris sought to allay concerns about the president’s health and viability.

“The president has always had our backs. We’ll have his back, too,” Maryland Gov. Wes Moore told reporters after the hourlong discussion. Moore said the governors were sincere in relaying the negative feedback their constituents gave about Biden’s performance in the June 27 debate. “The president … is our nominee. The president is the leader of our party,” Moore said.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul maintained that Biden is “here to win,” while Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said he believes Biden is fit for office before attacking Trump. “Obviously, we, like many Americans, are a little concerned,” Walz said. “We’re concerned because the threat of a Trump presidency is not theoretical.”

Only three of the 24 governors who attended the meeting — Hochul, Moore and Walz — spoke to the media after the meeting. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is rumored to be replacing Biden, attended the meeting in person. Afterward, he offered his support on X, formerly Twitter.

Read more: A Yahoo News/YouGov poll finds 60% of Americans say Biden is unfit for another term and the 2024 race with Trump remains too close to call

During the meeting, Politico reported, Biden acknowledged that he had sought medical care following last week’s debate. That disclosure appeared to contradict what White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Wednesday when asked if Biden had undergone any medical tests since February.

“We were able to talk to his doctor about that and the answer is no,” he replied.

On Thursday, White House spokesman Andrew Bates told CNN that “the president was seen getting his cold checked and was recovering well.”

Democratic congressmen begin to ask Biden to withdraw

Multiple reports claim that several House Democrats are privately weighing whether to ask Biden to withdraw from the 2024 election. So far, only two Democratic lawmakers have done so publicly. Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas was the first to say in a statement that he is “hopeful” Biden will “make the painful and difficult decision to withdraw.”

“While much of his work has been transformative, he has pledged to be transitional,” Doggett said. “He has the opportunity to encourage a new generation of leaders from whom a candidate can be chosen to unite our country through an open and democratic process.”

On Thursday, Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona became the second Democratic official to follow suit.

“If he’s the nominee, I’ll support him, but I think this is an opportunity to look elsewhere,” Grijalva told the New York Times. “What he needs to do is take responsibility for keeping that seat, and part of that responsibility is to withdraw from this race.”

While several top Democrats have publicly expressed concerns about Biden remaining in the race, they have stopped short of calling for him to drop out.

Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings wants Biden to ‘step aside’

The Netflix co-founder is one of the first major Democratic donors to issue a statement calling on the president to drop out of the race.

“Biden must step aside to allow a strong Democratic leader to defeat Trump and keep us safe and prosperous,” he told The New York Times in an email.

Privately, many big donors are said to be concerned about whether Biden has what it takes to beat Trump on Nov. 5.

“There’s a significant erosion between elected officials and donors,” Biden donor adviser Dmitri Mehlhorn told the Washington Post.

High-level interviews after the ‘mistake’ in the debate

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in an interview this week that Biden needed to grant interviews to “serious journalists” to try to restore public confidence in his leadership.

A pre-recorded radio interview with Biden by Milwaukee host Earl Ingram aired Thursday in which the president discussed his debate performance. “I had a bad night,” he said. “And the fact is, I screwed up. I made a mistake.”

Biden went on to say he was going to “win this election” and reiterated last week’s message: “When you get knocked down, you just get back up.”

There will be a much bigger test on Friday, when Biden appears for an interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos. While the network had originally planned to air the interview on Sunday, it announced on Thursday that it would move up that date. It will now air on Friday, July 5 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.

Biden has reportedly told allies that he knows the next few days are crucial to his re-election campaign. The president’s annual July 4 party at the White House will go ahead as planned on Thursday. He will travel to Wisconsin on Friday.

Read more

• Biden tells allies he knows he has just days to save his candidacy. “Biden has emphasized that he remains deeply committed to the fight for reelection, but he understands that his viability as a candidate is at stake.” (New York Times)

• The Biden family is “totally on board” with the president continuing in the 2024 race, a source says. “The first lady is fully committed. The family is fully committed.” (CNN)

• Who could replace Biden as the Democratic candidate? “Here’s the not-so-short list of hypothetical Biden replacements, along with how they rank among voters in a new Yahoo News/YouGov poll.” (Yahoo News)

• As the Biden team suggests, there can be no alternatives, and the DNC rules provide a path if Biden steps aside. ““Joe Biden will be the Democratic Party’s nominee for president,” the talking points read. (NBC News)

• Democratic Governors to President Biden: “The path to victory is priority number one” “But while several governors later said they “support him,” they also emphasized that their main goal is to find a “path to win.” (USA Today)

• Trump allies step up attacks on Harris as talk of Biden’s replacement grows. “The Trump campaign and its Republican allies appear to be laying the groundwork for an all-out attack on Harris.” (Reuters)

• ‘KHive’ and ‘coconut-pilled’: Kamala Harris sees sudden social media renaissance. “X included ‘Kamala’ among its trending topics in politics with approximately 188,000 posts, many of which offered a mix of genuine support and wry bemusement.” (NBC News)