A major campaign stop in North Saint Paul Friday for the Biden-Harris campaign amid continued calls for the president to bow out of the race.
United States Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, alongside Minnesota Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan, hosted military families to talk about the importance of protecting veteran interests in the upcoming election.
Gold Star mother Charlene Wilcox says the Biden family, having lost their son Beau, gives her confidence that he will continue to support veterans.
"To have them as Gold Star parents too, it means a lot," she said. "It means a lot to have someone who knows how devastating, and how proud you are at the same time."
Buttigieg stressed during the meeting that funding for veteran benefits and care are at risk of being slashed if former President Trump is elected for a second term.
"116 days is not a lot of time," Buttigieg said. "We've got a lot of work, but we're going to be very proud of what we have to show for that work."
The stop by Buttigieg comes with the campaign in crisis mode. So far, more than 15 Democratic lawmakers have gone out on a limb and called publicly for a president they’ve long supported to exit the race. Many more kept their newfound alarm about Biden semi-private. Mega-donors froze in the moment, wondering if they were plowing fortunes into a lost cause.
The bleeding of support continued past Biden's NATO news conference Thursday night. Immediately afterward, Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee, posted on X that Biden should end his campaign. Several others did as well.
CBS News Chief Washington Correspondent Major Garrett, speaking to WCCO's Chad Hartman on Friday, said nothing that happened Thursday will change things for the Biden Campaign.
"It didn't because a lot of the members of the House Democratic Caucus, who have subsequently put out statements, were going to do so anyway," Garrett says. "Those statements were written. They were just holding back at the urging of their leadership."
Garrett also said it's possible that the press conference did not add to the ranks of House Democrats that would call on the president to step aside.
"In that sense, the bleeding that was possible to occur, has been staunched," Garrett explained. "Meaning, if he had a really bad press conference that made people think this is just like the debate, only a slightly different venue, then I think you would have seen more statements, and more urgent calls, for the president to step aside."
Garrett says it won't stop the conversations around the Biden Campaign, but perhaps buys him more time.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.