Biden Sticks to His Script as Allies Press for a More Freewheeling Approach

President Biden, facing a political crisis in which some of his Democratic allies are asking him to be more unscripted in order to demonstrate his ability to win over voters, instead stuck to his script on Sunday, reading from notes for an address to a church congregation that lasted roughly seven minutes.

At a worship service at one of Philadelphia’s biggest Black churches, Mr. Biden — speaking without a teleprompter, which he uses in most of his public remarks — sought to reassure a group of voters who helped him win the White House in 2020 that he is still capable of beating former President Donald J. Trump.

“The joy cometh in the morning,” Mr. Biden told several hundred people at Mount Airy Church of God in Christ, where a visit has become something of a rite for Democrats. “You’ve never given up. In my life, and as your president, I’ve tried to walk my faith.”

Mr. Biden is at a tension point in his campaign, with his advisers seeking to keep his appearances tight and other Democratic allies wanting him to be more freewheeling to show he can respond in real time to events.

“They don’t need scripted remarks,” said Steve Sisolak, the Democratic former governor of Nevada. “He needs to show people that he can do it on the spot and answer questions — tough questions — and be out there with voters.”

The president did spend far more time meeting voters at the church and at two events later on Sunday than he has in recent weeks on the campaign trail. Ammar Moussa, a spokesman for the Biden campaign, said Mr. Biden did exactly what he needed to.