Tampa, Fla. (Associated Press) Jill Biden On Monday, he vowed to the president that he was “fully committed.” Joe Biden’s He tried to hold on to the Democratic presidential nomination, but his poor performance in the debates led some Democrats to call for him to withdraw. Donald Trump Their faith in him was shaken.
The president himself has dismissed those calls, reiterating on Monday that he has no plans to drop out of the race.
“There’s been a lot of talk about this race, but Joe has made it clear he’s going to fight this with all his might,” the first lady told military personnel in Wilmington, North Carolina, the first of three battleground states she’s visiting.
“It’s his decision, and I fully support it, just as he’s always supported me in my career,” said Jill Biden, a community college professor of English and composition.
Speaking later that day at the American Legion headquarters in Tampa, Florida, she said her husband considered supporting military members and veterans a “sacred duty,” contrasting that with Trump.
“As commander in chief, President Biden stands ready to work for you every morning,” Jill Biden said. “Donald Trump wakes up every morning thinking about only one person: himself.”
Danny Fuqua, chairman of the Florida Democratic Veterans Caucus, said Biden’s military ties make him a clear choice for president in November.
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“The Biden family is a military family. They’re one of us. They don’t just see a uniform, they see a person in uniform,” Fuqua said.
Jill Biden next headed to an event in Columbus, Georgia, home to the Army’s sprawling Fort Moore.
Her day-long tour was part of a broader effort by the Biden campaign to bounce back from the president’s lackluster performance against Trump. Last month’s debate.
The debate led some Democrats to urge the president to allow another candidate to challenge Trump, believing the 81-year-old president no longer has the mental or physical capacity to defeat the former Republican president in November’s election.
During her visit to Tampa, Jill Biden also announced the creation of a veterans and military family organizing group in support of the Biden-Harris alliance.
“We cannot take anything for granted. We must rise to this moment because our freedoms are at risk,” she said.
Since the June 27 debate, the president He remains in the raceHe did so again Monday in a letter to Democratic lawmakers and in a phone interview with MSNBC.
Jill Biden used her appearance to highlight the differences between her husband and President Trump’s attitudes toward American troops, veterans and their families.
The President’s Late Son baud He served in Iraq as a member of the Delaware Army National Guard, and the First Lady’s father was a Navy radio operator during World War II.
“This is personal to us,” she said, describing the wait times to get through on the phone to service members stationed overseas and having to keep smiling while missing loved ones on holidays.
“Let me ask you a question… does Donald Trump know what that feels like?” she said.
The First Lady said that during President Trump’s visit to France in 2018, she thanked the service members who made the ultimate sacrifice “for their hard work and dedication to their country.” “Idiot” and “loser”. Trump has denied the remarks.
“It is shameful, but not surprising,” she said, noting that the Supreme Court has held that a president cannot be prosecuted for acts committed while in office, and that “our democracy cannot tolerate a virtually unrestrained Trump presidency.”
“Members of our military honor their oath to support and defend the Constitution, and we cannot allow Donald Trump to do the same,” she said. “You deserve a commander in chief who will perform his duties with integrity, wisdom and character, and that is my husband, Joe Biden.”
A Trump campaign spokesman did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
During the debate, Biden and Trump sparred over who cares most about veterans. Biden recently said: Visit to the American military cemetery in Franceis the final resting place of American soldiers who fought in World War I, but President Trump famously did not visit it during his 2018 visit.
During the debate, Trump argued that the Democratic president is coddling immigrants while ignoring the needs of veterans and service members, and he criticized Biden for the disorganized withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.
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Superville reported from Washington.
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