Biden expresses concerns over his candidacy to ally: NYT

US President Joe Biden has told an ally that he knows he may not be able to salvage his candidacy if he cannot convince the public in the coming days that he is up for the job after his debate performance last week, the New York Times reported today.

After the report was published, White House spokesperson Andrew Bates wrote on social media: "This claim is absolutely false".

The Times quoted the ally as saying that Biden "knows if he has two more events like that, we're in a different place" by the end of the weekend. The report described the ally as "key" but did not name the person.

The headline of the report said that Biden told the ally he is weighing whether to continue in the race. The text of the report did not include any reference to those comments.

Biden was due to hold a meeting with Democratic governors yesterday and speak to lawmakers to reassure them about his fitness as the party's standard-bearer after his disastrous debate last week against Trump.

Biden spoke to Representative Hakeem Jeffries, the minority leader in the House of Representatives, on Tuesday, and Senator Chuck Schumer, the majority leader in the Senate, yesterday, a White House official said.

Some supporters have expressed growing doubts about the 81-year-old's candidacy after last week's televised showdown with Donald Trump, when Biden stumbled over his words and lost his train of thought -- exacerbating fears about his age.

Congressman Lloyd Doggett became the first Democratic lawmaker to publicly call on Biden to make way for another candidate, saying he was hopeful the president would "make the painful and difficult decision to withdraw."

Nancy Pelosi, a Democratic Party heavyweight and former speaker of the House, said it was "legitimate" to ask whether Biden's debate disaster was indicative of a deeper problem rather than a one-off.

Biden has not given a live interview since the debacle, but will be interviewed by ABC on Friday with the first clips released later that day.

On Tuesday, he blamed exhaustion from international travel for his debate flop.

Speaking at a fundraiser, Biden said he "wasn't very smart" for "traveling around the world a couple times... shortly before the debate."

"I didn't listen to my staff," he said. "And then I almost fell asleep on stage."

Biden traveled to France from June 5 to 9 to commemorate the 1944 Allied landings, headed back to the United States, and then flew to Italy for a G7 summit followed immediately by a visit to California.

He then returned home and went to a presidential retreat for several days of rest and preparation for the debate.

House Democrat Jim Clyburn - a kingmaker of sorts within the Democratic Party and who was instrumental in Biden's 2020 win - told CNN yesterday that the party should hold a "mini-primary" if Biden steps aside, the first senior party member to talk publicly about how, exactly, replacing Biden as a candidate would work.

Clyburn, who said on Tuesday that he would back Vice President Kamala Harris as the presidential candidate if Biden were to depart.