In a new letter to congressional Democrats, President Joe Biden said he is “firmly committed” to staying in the race and keep running for re-election against Donald Trump despite calls for him to step aside.
Biden sent the letter to Democrats on Monday, doubling down on his intentions to remain his party’s candidate, according to a copy obtained by Punchbowl News founder Jake Sherman. Biden penned the letter as some lawmakers, including senior House Democrats, reportedly called on the president to end his re-election campaign.
“Fellow Democrats, 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’s letter begins.
Later in the letter, the president defended his decision to stay in the race by pointing at his blowout victory in the Democratic primary over multiple Democratic challengers.
“The voters of the Democratic Party have voted. They have chosen me to be the nominee of the party,” he wrote. “Do we now just say this process didn’t matter? That the voters don’t have a say?”
“I decline to do that. 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,” Biden added. “It was their decision to make.”
While Republicans, such as Trump, and some political pundits warned about Biden’s apparent mental lapses in the years leading up to the 2024 campaign, Democrats’ public concerns about Biden’s health and mental capability began following his June 27 debate performance. The debate was widely viewed as a disaster for the president as he struggled to reply to the moderators’ questions with coherent answers throughout the night.
Biden sat down for an interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos that aired on Friday night as the presumptive Democratic nominee sought to assuage any fears about his re-election chances. The ABC News interview, however, left many still wondering if Biden has the strength to run a successful campaign.
During a private phone call between Biden, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and other Democrats on Sunday, four senior Democratic lawmakers called for Biden to step aside — Reps. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), Adam Smith (D-Wash.), Mark Takano (D-Calif.), and Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.) — according to POLITICO, which cited two people familiar with the discussion. Biden, however, has maintained support from other allies, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Chris Murphy (D-CT), and John Fetterman (D-PA), who have all defended the president amid calls for him to end his campaign.
“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,” Biden wrote in his letter to congressional Democrats. “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. Believe me, I know better than anyone the responsibility and the burden the nominee of our party carries.”
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