Frustration is growing among key backers, a week after the president's disastrous debate with Donald Trump.

A group of 168 Democratic Party supporters, including major donors and academics, sent a letter to US President Joe Biden on Friday, urging him to drop his bid for reelection, the Washington Post has reported, citing anonymous sources. Over the past week, several other media outlets have claimed that pressure on Biden is mounting from within the party, but the incumbent is digging in his heels.

Doubts over whether the 81-year-old is mentally and physically capable of leading the country for another four years have grown since his halting performance in a televised debate against Republican rival Donald Trump last week. Biden appeared frail and confused throughout the encounter - something he and his campaign have put down to a cold and travel-related fatigue.

In its article on Friday, the Post quoted the letter as "respectfully" calling on Biden to "withdraw from being a candidate for reelection for the sake of our democracy and the future of our nation."

The plea cited "threats posed by a second term of Donald Trump" and advised Biden to "cement your legacy by passing the torch - just as George Washington did."

According to the paper, the 168 signatories include Christy Walton, the billionaire daughter-in-law of Walmart's founder, as well as billionaire investor Mike Novogratz and Harvard Law School professor Lawrence Lessig, among many other top-level business executives and academics.

Speaking to the New York Times on Wednesday, Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings argued:

"Biden needs to step aside to allow a vigorous Democratic leader to beat Trump and keep us safe and prosperous."

The article noted that while Hastings was one of the first major Democratic donors to publicly vent his frustration, many of his peers are privately expressing similar concerns.

On the same day, another major Democratic Party donor, Charles Myers, the chair of Signum Global Advisors, told Bloomberg Surveillance that Biden has "four to five days" to prove he is fit to continue the race for reelection.

The president has, however, brushed off all suggestions he should step aside. During a call with campaign staffers on Wednesday, the politician insisted:

"Let me say this as clearly as I possibly can, as simply and straightforward as I can: I am running... no one's pushing me out. I'm not leaving."

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