US president dismisses pressure to bow out of 2024 election race, saying he is ‘best person’ to beat Donald Trump.
Facing continued pressure to bow out of the United States election race, President Joe Biden has told fellow Democrats that he is committed to his 2024 campaign and is “the best person” to beat Republican Donald Trump.
In a letter to Democratic Party lawmakers on Monday, Biden said that despite recent speculation, he is “firmly committed to staying in this race, to running this race to the end, and to beating Donald Trump”.
“I have heard the concerns that people have – their good faith fears and worries about what is at stake in this election,” the letter reads.
“I can respond to all this by saying clearly and unequivocally: I wouldn’t be running again if I did not absolutely believe I was the best person to beat Donald Trump in 2024.”
Political commentators and Democratic legislators have raised concerns in recent days over Biden’s ability to serve a second term in office after he delivered a disastrous performance in a debate against Trump late last month.
The Democratic president appeared exhausted and lost his train of thought during the event, prompting questions about his health and viability as a candidate in November’s election.
This morning, I sent a letter to my fellow Democrats on Capitol Hill. In it, I shared my thoughts about this moment in our campaign.
It’s time to come together, move forward as a unified party, and defeat Donald Trump. pic.twitter.com/ABtAaJrr0n
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 8, 2024
Biden faces a tough election battle against Trump with recent opinion polls showing the former Republican president in the lead in key swing states.
While Biden has sought to dismiss concerns about his debate performance as a “bad episode”, his pledge to remain the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate has exposed divisions within the party.
While some Democrats continue to back the president’s re-election bid, a handful have publicly called on him to drop out of the race.
“I do not believe that the President can effectively campaign and win against Donald Trump,” Democratic Congresswoman Angie Craig said in a statement on Saturday, adding that “there is too much at stake to risk a second Donald Trump presidency.”
“That’s why I respectfully call on President Biden to step aside as the Democratic nominee for a second term as President and allow for a new generation of leaders to step forward.”
US media outlets have reported that more Democrats also have expressed concern privately.
Citing an unnamed person familiar with the matter, The Associated Press news agency said at least four more Democratic members of the House of Representatives said in a private call on Sunday that Biden should step aside.
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries also plans to hold private meetings with lawmakers before making his position known, AP reported.
Reporting from the White House on Monday afternoon, Al Jazeera’s Kimberly Halkett said Democratic Party leaders on Capitol Hill are in “listening mode”.
Democratic leaders will be meeting on Tuesday for a weekly policy luncheon, Halkett reported, and this week’s talks will be geared towards figuring out the party’s next steps.
“What we’re hearing is there’s kind of an unofficial deadline,” she said. “Joe Biden has really until this Friday to prove to the Democratic Party that he can do this job.”
The Democratic Party will formally announce its 2024 presidential candidate at the party’s national convention in Chicago in August.
Republicans, for their part, are set to confirm Trump – who in May became the first ex-president ever convicted of a crime in US history – as their candidate at the party’s convention next week.
