‘Touch Me, Poke Me, Ask Me Questions,’ Biden Says of Voters Who Doubt Him

President Biden on Friday told a Democratic lawmaker who called for him to step aside that voters should “touch me, poke me, ask me questions” if they have doubts about his ability to serve in the Oval Office or defeat former President Donald J. Trump in November.

Mr. Biden made the remarks during a virtual meeting with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, according to a partial transcript of the exchange obtained by The New York Times. He was responding to Representative Mike Levin of California, who told Mr. Biden during the meeting that he believed the president should not continue his bid for another term, according to two people familiar with the call. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it.

Mr. Levin is the 19th member of Congress to call for him to step aside in the two weeks since Mr. Biden’s disastrous debate performance, but he is the first one known to have done so directly to the president — even virtually.

“That’s why I’m going out and letting people touch me, poke me, ask me questions,” Mr. Biden told Mr. Levin. “I think I know what I’m doing, because the truth of the matter is — I’m going to say something outrageous — no president in three years has done what we have in three years other than Franklin Roosevelt.”

In a statement after the meeting ended, Mr. Levin said he appreciated Mr. Biden’s “five-plus decades” of service, “but I believe the time has come for President Biden to pass the torch.”

Mr. Levin said Friday that he had no comment beyond his statement, but it was clear from the fact that he didn’t back away from his comments that nothing in Mr. Biden’s response had changed his mind.