Former Democrat presidential candidate calls out 'mistake' in Biden's letter to fellow Democrats

Biden asked congressional Democrats to ‘move forward as a unified party’ with him

A familiar face of America’s past political landscape has criticized President Biden’s letter to his party and finds it more "harmful" than helpful for the 46th president.

"I read that letter," former Nebraska senator, governor and 1992 Democrat presidential candidate Bob Kerrey said Monday on "The Claman Countdown."

"If I was a Democratic member of Congress, I'd call the White House and say, ‘You made a mistake. You don't send this letter out to us,’" he continued. "'If I question [whether] you can defeat Donald Trump, I'm bad for democracy?' It's blatantly untrue, it's self-serving and not helpful."

WHO ADDED MORE TO NATIONAL DEBT, BIDEN OR TRUMP?

On Monday morning, President Biden urged his colleagues to stop questioning whether he should end his re-election bid and "move forward as a unified party" to defeat former President Trump in their 2024 election rematch.

Joe Biden writes letter to Democrats

Bob Kerrey, a 1992 Democrat presidential candidate, called President Biden's letter to Democrats a "mistake" on "The Claman Countdown." (Getty Images)

Biden also reiterated that he's "firmly committed to staying in this race" and argued that any further questioning of his candidacy "only helps Trump and hurts us."

The president’s fitness for office has come into question in the wake of his poor debate performance nearly two weeks ago in his first face-to-face showdown with Trump.

Biden’s halting delivery and stumbling answers at the showdown in Atlanta sparked widespread panic in the Democratic Party and a rising tide of public and private calls from within his own party for him to step aside as its 2024 standard-bearer before the Democratic National Convention in Chicago next month.

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE

"It sounds to me like he's decided to stay in, no matter what happens, and we'll find out," Kerrey said. "He said, 'Well, you can challenge me in Chicago.' Well, there's no challenger in Chicago. He's got the delegates all lined up to become the nominee of the Democratic Party."

"And again, it kind of puts him in a position that I don't think he wants to be in. He's told people he's got to run," he added, "[so] go campaign, tell people what you're going to do instead of getting angry that people are telling you that you shouldn't run, questioning their patriotism when they do."

READ MORE FROM FOX BUSINESS

Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser and Patrick Ward contributed to this report.