Ron Klain, the former chief of staff for President Joe Biden, is calling for an end to Democrat “freak-out” after Biden’s NATO press conference avoided total disaster and an NPR/Marist/PBS News poll showed him with a narrow lead over Trump Friday morning.
“With yesterdays press conf and this new poll, it’s time to end the freak out and unite behind the Democratic nominee and the only person who has ever beaten Trump,” Klain declared in a post on X.
His post comes a day after he said polls showing Trump ahead, including in Rust Belt states that will decide the election, are “in the ballpark” while appearing on the New Republic’s The Daily Blast with Greg Sargent Podcast. He also shared his belief that Biden is “doing a little better than” what had been reflected in surveys.
“But look, I’ve said all along, it’s a very close race. And I’m not saying Joe Biden has it in the bag, but I do believe firmly that he is the best Democratic candidate and is the person most likely to beat Trump, having beaten Trump previously,” Klain added.
The NPR/PBS News Hour/Marist poll shows Biden getting a boost after his shaky debate performance and the widespread chatter on the left that ensued about potentially replacing him as the nominee.
The president is at 50 percent in the poll, compared to Trump’s 48 percent. On June 18, just over a week before the debate, Marist had Biden and Trump tied at 49 percent.
Biden’s high-stakes press conference on Thursday night was not without its lowlights. Just hours before he took the stage to talk to reporters, Biden introduced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as “President Putin” before quickly correcting himself.
WATCH: “President Putin”?! Watch Biden’s Epic Fail Trying to Introduce Ukraine’s Zelensky
During the press conference, he called Vice President Kamala Harris “Vice President Trump.”
WATCH: Joint Ticket? Biden Calls Kamala “Vice President Trump” in Press Conference
Another former senior Biden staffer, former White House press secretary Jen Psaki, said on MSNBC after the presser that Biden bought the campaign time.
“It doesn’t mean it’s a win for the process because this purgatory and this in-between is a real challenge, and the uncertainty is what’s a challenge for down-ballot candidates,” she added.
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