Desperate Biden pens letter to congressional Dems who want him to drop re-election bid: ‘Firmly committed’
President Biden insisted to congressional Democrats Monday that he is “firmly committed” to staying in the 2024 presidential race — while making no direct mention of his disastrous debate performance or concerns about his age and cognitive health.
The letter, which instead largely focused on bashing former President Donald Trump, came after four more senior House Democrats called for the 81-year-old commander-in-chief to end his re-election bid following a private call with Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) on Sunday.
“Now that you have returned from the July 4th recess, I want you to know that despite all the speculation in the press and elsewhere, I am firmly committed to staying in this race, to running this race to the end, and to beating Donald Trump,” Biden wrote in his letter, which was addressed to “fellow Democrats.”
“I have had extensive conversations with the leadership of the party, elected officials, rank and file members, and most importantly, Democratic voters over these past 10 days or so. I have heard the concerns that people have — their good faith fears and worries about what is at stake in this election. I am not blind to them,” he said.
Biden has previously maintained he would not drop out but pushed back even harder in the letter, arguing that voters chose him as the Democratic nominee and that exiting the race now would say that “this process didn’t matter.”
“I feel a deep obligation to the faith and the trust the voters of the Democratic Party have placed in me to run this year. It was their decision to make. Not the press, not the pundits, not the big donors, not any selected group of individuals, no matter how well intentioned,” Biden said.
“The voters — and the voters alone — decide the nominee of the Democratic Party. How can we stand for democracy in our nation if we ignore it in our own party? I cannot do that. I will not do that.”
Biden noted that he had faced primary challenges from “[o]nly three people,” none of whom he mentioned by name.
“One fared so badly that he left the primaries to run as an independent,” he said, referring to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
“Another attacked me for being too old and was soundly defeated,” Biden added, calling out Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.).
The president caused alarm among fellow Democrats with his performance in the CNN debate against Trump on June 27 — during which he froze up, stumbled over his words and often failed to answer the moderators’ question without making embarrassing gaffes.
On Sunday, four prominent Democratic lawmakers — Jerry Nadler and Joseph D. Morelle of New York, Adam Smith of Washington, and Mark Takano of California — said Biden should step aside during a call hosted by Jeffries.
Five other House Democrats — Lloyd Doggett of Texas, Raul Grijalva of Arizona, Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, Mike Quigley of Illinois and Angie Craig of Minnesota — had already called on the president to bow out.
On Monday, however, Biden indicated that he was moving full speed ahead with his campaign.
“The question of how to move forward has been well-aired for over a week now. And it’s time for it to end,” the president said.
“We have one job. And that is to beat Donald Trump. We have 42 days to the Democratic Convention and 119 days to the general election. Any weakening of resolve or lack of clarity about the task ahead only helps Trump and hurts us. It is time to come together, move forward as a unified party, and defeat Donald Trump.”
Shortly after releasing the letter, Biden called in to MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” and insisted that “I am not going anywhere.”
“Look at my career, and I have not had many of those nights. It was a terrible night, and I really regret it happened,” Biden told co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski of the debate.
On a call with donors later Monday, Biden said he planned to “attack, attack, attack, attack” Trump at the next debate, set for Sept. 10.
“I’ve been knocked down before, and we’re getting up. The country’s been knocked down before, and we’re getting up. We’re a decent, honorable country. We’re about hope and progress and perception of who we are as a people,” the president said. “The American people are decent and honorable. Trump is anything but any of those things. And we’re going to make that message clear.”
