President Joe Biden received encouraging support on Friday for his continued campaign for president as the Democrats’ presumptive nominee.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) publicly announced he is sticking by Biden, who faces pressure from a small group of Democrat lawmakers to step aside as the party’s nominee.

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Jeffries’ statement directly contradicts establishment media reporting on Wednesday that Jeffries abandoned Biden, a sign that leaks to the media are perhaps ploys to shame Biden into quitting.

“Joe Biden, as I’ve said repeatedly, is our nominee … he has the vision, I believe, the ability, the capacity, and the track record to make a case to the American people that will result in us being successful in November,” Jeffries said Friday in New York:

Only a handful of Democrat lawmakers publicly called for Biden to step aside, though the list is steadily growing by the day. Those members abandoning Biden are generally candidates seeking reelection in November. Their opposition could be a political tactic to distance themselves from the unpopular 81-year-old president to win reelection.

A new Biden statement suggests Biden is not removing himself from the race, a decision that only he can make.

“I look forward to getting back on the campaign trail next week to continue exposing the threat of Donald Trump’s Project 2025 agenda while making the case for my own record and the vision that I have for America,” Biden stated.

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“The stakes are high, and the choice is clear. Together, we will win,” he added.

At the beginning of the week, it looked like Biden was in a strong position to overcome objections to his nomination. The assassination attempt on Trump paused Democrat infighting about Biden remaining atop the ticket. It dominated the news cycle, followed by the dismissal of the classified documents case against Trump, and then Trump’s pick of Sen. JD Vance as his running mate.

Not one Democrat publicly came out against Biden from Saturday to Monday, a positive sign for the president. But the storm appeared to break Tuesday morning and worsened throughout the week, with several leaks that appeared intended to put pressure on Biden to quit the race. The media reported top Democrat leaders, such as Reps. Nancy Pelosi, Hakeem Jeffries, Sen. Chuck Schumer, and former President Barack Obama, all placing pressure on Biden.

Wendell Husebo is a political reporter with Breitbart News and a former RNC War Room Analyst. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality. Follow Wendell on “X” @WendellHusebø or on Truth Social @WendellHusebo.