President Joe Biden reiterated to Democrats in Congress that he has no plans to step aside as their presumptive presidential nominee and urged them to unite to defeat Donald Trump in November.
“Despite all speculation in the press and elsewhere, I am committed to staying in this race, seeing this race through to the end and defeating Donald Trump,” Biden wrote in a letter released Monday by his presidential campaign as a member of Congress. returned to Washington after a two-week break.
The president argued that withdrawing from the race, as some lawmakers have urged him to do, would go against the wishes of Democratic voters casting ballots across the country.
“This was a process open to anyone who wanted to run for office… they chose me as the party’s nominee,” Biden wrote. “How can we stand up for democracy in our country if we don’t have it in our own party?”
He added: “The question of how to proceed has been in strong focus for more than a week now. And it’s time for it to end. Any weakening of resolve or clarity about the task ahead only helps Trump and hurts us. It is time to come together, move forward as a united party and defeat Donald Trump.”
Nine House Democrats have called on Biden to step aside, and dozens of others have raised concerns about his age and physical abilities after his shaky debate performance against Trump last month. That number could increase when lawmakers reconvene in Washington this week.
Biden also called into NBC’s “Morning Joe” Monday morning and said he had “one bad night” but is committed to running against Trump, citing support for him among voters on the campaign trail.
“I wanted to make sure I was right when I said the average voter still wanted Joe Biden. We have a big crowd, an enthusiastic crowd,” Biden said of his campaign events over the past week.
“The bottom line is we’re not going anywhere. I’m not going anywhere,” he added.