Representative James Clyburn, a key ally of the president, has said that Biden has ‘earned the right’ to decide to run.

South Carolina Representative James Clyburn has said that US President Joe Biden should remain in the race for a second term, giving a boost to the president amid growing calls to step aside after a disastrous debate performance underscored concerns about his age.

In a TV interview on Friday, Clyburn, a close ally of Biden who played a key role in his victory in the 2020 presidential primary, said discussion about the president’s fitness to run should end.

“The conversation should focus on the record of this administration, on the alternative to his election, and let Joe Biden continue to make his own decisions about his future,” Clyburn, an influential figure among Black voters, an important constituency of the party, said in an interview with the news outlet NBC.

“He’s earned that right. And I’m going to give him that much respect.”

Clyburn also noted that Vice President Kamala Harris, seen as a likely pick to replace Biden if he were to step aside, would “absolutely” have his support if she were to be the party’s candidate.

However, another congressional Democrat called on Biden to step aside and allow the party to pick a replacement candidate, raising to 18 the number who have done so.

“Please pass the torch to one of our many capable Democratic leaders so we have the best chance to defeat Donald Trump,” Representative Brittany Pettersen, one of the Democrats who have done so, wrote in a social media post.

Democratic House Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a key figure in the party, said in a letter to colleagues that he gave his “heartfelt perspectives and conclusions about the path forward,” in a meeting with Biden on Thursday.

While voters have long expressed concern that Biden is too old to run for re-election, the president has insisted on running for a second term in office. With most US voters firmly divided into ideological camps, opinion polls suggest the race remains close.

Members of the party were reluctant to challenge Biden’s decision to run until a disastrous debate between Biden and Trump, during which the president stumbled through questions and at times appeared tired and confused.

Biden’s appearance at a highly watched news conference on Thursday provided fodder for his supporters and doubters alike.

At one point, Biden referred to his vice president, Kamala Harris, as “Vice President Trump”. Hours earlier, he introduced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as “President Putin” at the NATO summit, drawing gasps from those in the room.

Biden occasionally garbled his responses at the news conference but also delivered detailed assessments of global issues, including the Russia-Ukraine war and Israel’s war on Gaza.