Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - As questions and pressure continue to mount surrounding whether Joe Biden has enough mental and physical strength to continue another term in the White House, Democratic officials in Erie County continue to show their support for the President.
"I think he's been working awfully hard in the last week to make sure people are getting the message about his campaign, loud and clear, and I think that's coming through to the public," said Erie County Democratic Party Chairman Jeremy Zellner in an interview with WBEN.
Zellner notes that Biden in Washington is currently hosting the NATO summit, which started Tuesday and will end on Thursday with a solo Joe Biden press conference, which he believes will bode well for him.
"I think he is showing his strength. He is pulling NATO together and having a summit, which I think is going to yield some big results. He's somebody who gets things done," Zellner said. "Donald Trump wants to weaken NATO and give in to dictators across the world. Joe Biden is trying to pull our historic alliances together to keep us strong."
In a letter to Congress on Monday, Biden says he will continue his re-election bid despite mounting concerns. This subsequently followed Congressional Democrats having meetings behind closed doors to discuss Biden's campaign going forward. One House member, who is still publicly supporting Biden, said people in the caucus are worried that "the age issue will continue to be a huge distraction."
So does Zellner believe Biden should and could continue in the race?
"I think he is, and will continue and should continue," he said. "Biden is going to continue moving around the country, spreading the word about the good things he's done. He's the best job creator in modern times as a president, we just had a jobs report come out in June where 206,000 jobs were created. We've got the strongest post-pandemic recovery in the world for any nation. He's working hard, and I think the results are what people care about in this country."
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Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz notes that Biden has done far more for Erie County and Western New York than his predecessor and 2024 opponent. Poloncarz also feels Biden is fit enough to serve as President.
"Joe Biden has been a consequential good president, a good president for our region. Donald Trump did nothing for Erie County and Western New York. Absolutely nothing," said Poloncarz with WBEN. "He liked to talk a good game, but he couldn't get anything done. He talked about how he's going to get infrastructure done, he didn't get a single damn infrastructure bill done. Joe Biden did it with a Republican House. It just goes to show how strong a president he has been. We are all standing with President Biden against somebody who would prefer to be a dictator, in Donald Trump."
Poloncarz notes the American public needs to know what Trump would do as president if he were to be elected again, which he believes are the policies suggested in Project 2025, a set of initiatives developed by the Heritage Foundation.
Donald Trump last week in a Truth Social post denies he doesn't know anything about who started Project 2025.
"I know nothing about Project 2025. I have no idea who is behind it," he wrote. "I disagree with some of the things they're saying," he continued, adding some of their assertions were "absolutely ridiculous and abysmal."
Poloncarz believes it will be Biden winning the November election.
"The average Democratic and Independent voter in Erie County will be voting for Joe Biden, and I implore all Republicans to consider voting for Biden as well over the individual that is Donald Trump," Poloncarz said. "In last year's election, we believe about 20% of Republicans in Erie County actually voted for me. They rejected MAGAism, they rejected my opponent who stood for MAGAism. If you believe in MAGAism, you believe in tearing down the American ideals. So I'm calling on all true blue patriots to do what is appropriate. Save our country, vote for Joe Biden."