WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden came out swinging on Monday in defense of his spot atop the 2024 Democratic ticket in a pivotal week for the incumbent’s political future.
Biden insisted in a letter to congressional Democrats that he’s not dropping out despite concerns about his mental fitness and capacity through the 2024 campaign and a possible second term. The 81-year-old president, the oldest in U.S. history, also called into MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe’ to push back on the growing calls to step aside.
“I’ve got a pretty good political instinct and here’s the deal, it’s not going to happen here,” Biden said. “This time around, the American public is not going to move away from me as the average voter.”
Five Democrats on Capitol Hill have so far urged Biden in public to end his reelection bid, while four additional top committee leaders said in a private call with party leaders on Sunday they too thought it was time for the president to pass the torch. More Democrats could join the ranks of those asking Biden to step aside.
Biden calls into Morning Joe
Joe Biden emphatically said he will continue to run for president during a live phone interview on TV on Monday morning.
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“I want to make sure I was right, that the average voter out there wanted Joe Biden and I’m confident they do,” Biden said during the phone interview on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. “The bottom line here is that we are not going anywhere. I am not going anywhere. I would not be running if I didn’t believe I am the best candidate to beat Donald Trump in 2024.”
The president said during the phone interview that average voters are not going to turn away from him, and expressed frustration with the “elites” who are calling on him to drop out, claiming they have been wrong in past elections.
Biden also took a jab at former President Donald Trump, the presumptive 2024 Republican nominee, calling him a “liar.”
“This guy is gonna rip away at a woman’s right to choose in a permanent way. This guy is gonna make sure that he exacts revenge. This guy’s gonna destroy democracy,” Biden said.
– Rebecca Morin
Reps. Jerry Nadler, Adam Smith and Mark Takano call for Biden to exit race
Four House Democrats said Biden should step down as the Democratic presidential nominee during a private phone call for committee ranking members on Sunday afternoon, multiple media reported.
They include Reps. Jerry Nadler of New York, Adam Smith of Washington, Mark Takano of California and Joe Morelle of New York.
All of those lawmakers are the top Democrats on House committees. The call was held by House Democratic leadership and was attended by other top Democrats as questions mount over whether Biden can beat former President Trump in November.
– Ken Tran
John Fetterman stands by Biden
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., defended President Joe Biden during an appearance on CNN on Monday as multiple Democrats continue to voice concerns about the incumbent president’s decision to stay in the 2024 White House race.
“Joe Biden has been a great president … and I’m not going to chuck him for a rough debate,” Fetterman said.
The Pennsylvania senator, who appeared with Biden at multiple campaign stops across the pivotal swing state on Sunday, said he did not see the president falter.
“He was perfect,” Fetterman said. “At every single stop that we had, people were thrilled, I mean, people were thirsty to have their picture taken with the president. And he was crisp, and he was engaged … he was crushing it.”
– Savannah Kuchar
Reps. Seth Moulton, Mike Quigley and more urge Biden to step aside
Five House Democrats have publicly called for Biden to drop out of the 2024 race, including Reps. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, Seth Moulton, D-Mass., Mike Quigley, D-Ill., Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., and Angie Craig, D-Minn.
Quigley said Monday that he believes there will be more Democrats this week speaking out against President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign.
“It’s going to be an amazing, unfortunately horrible week. But I do think the numbers will grow. I don’t know how the president will react to that,” he said during an interview on CNN.
– Savannah Kuchar and Karissa Waddick
Axelrod predicts that Biden won’t win the 2024 race, can’t beat Father Time
Former Obama advisor David Axelrod said Sunday that he thinks it’s more likely Joe Biden will lose the 2024 race “by a landslide” than narrowly beat Donald Trump.
“He’s fought his way back from political defeats and against the odds. And so, his psyche is that he can beat anybody and any long odds. What he can’t beat is Father Time. And that’s really the concern here. It’s not about his record,” Axelrod told CNN.
“There are certain immutable facts of life,” Axelrod added. “And those were painfully obvious on that debate stage, and the President just doesn’t seem to come to – he hasn’t come to grips with it. He’s not winning this race…if you just look at the data and talk to people around the country, political people around the country, it’s more likely that he’ll lose by a landslide than win narrowly this race.”
– Sudiksha Kochi
Biden’s letter to congressional Democrats
Joe Biden sent a letter to congressional Democrats on Monday reaffirming his commitment to staying in the presidential race.
Biden said he’d had “extensive” conversations with Democrats and understood their “good faith fears and worries” about the stakes of the election. “I’m not blind to them,” Biden said.
“I am firmly committed to staying in this race, to running this race to the end, and to beating Donald Trump,” he wrote.
He has consistently said since a debate fiasco, where he froze and trailed off at times, that he would continue on in the race.
– Francesca Chambers
