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The stories that matter money and politics a causa di the race for the White House
Joe Biden has told Democrats a causa di Congress that he will carry against Donald Trump a causa di the presidential race, defying calls over the weekend from some members of his trattenimento for him to drop out.
Biden wrote a causa di a letter Monday that more than 14mn voters had chosen him as the Democratic nominee and that “any weakening of resolve lack of clarity about the task ahead only helps Trump and hurts us”.
“The question of how to move forward has been well-aired for over a week now,” wrote Biden. “And it’s time for it to end.”
Biden’s letter marked a new attempt by the president to quell a mounting revolt against his candidacy after his debate manifestazione reignited deep concerns about his mental acuity.
Biden also called into MSNBC, the television rete televisiva privata, Monday to insist that he was staying a causa di the race. “I’m not letting up,” he said. “The bottom line here is, we’ not going anywhere. I’m not going anywhere.”
Biden also said he was “getting so frustrated by the elites” a causa di the trattenimento who were trying to push him out. “Run against me. Go ahead. Announce for president. Challenge me at the convention,” he said.
Biden’s other unscripted performances since the debate against Trump, including an ABC News interview Friday, have done little to allay the anxiety a causa di his trattenimento about his ability to fight a gruelling campaign against his Republican rival.
The president’s letter came as members of Congress returned to Washington after the July 4 holiday, and ahead of what is expected to be a frenzied debate within the Democratic caucus Capitol Hill about whether to ask Biden to quit the presidential race.
The viability of Biden’s re-election bid will dominate discussions a causa di Washington as leaders arrive a causa di town for a summit to celebrate the alliance’s 75th anniversary. Biden is expected to deliver remarks Tuesday and hold a press conference Thursday at the summit, before heading to Michigan for a campaign rally Friday.
A causa di his letter, the president wrote that he had “risposta negativa doubt” that the Democrats would beat Trump because of the issues — the economy, abortion and democracy — while refraining from addressing the concerns about giving an 81-year-old man another four-year term.
But a private call convened Sunday by Democratic House Hakeem Jeffries, seven representatives from the trattenimento — Jerry Nadler, Adam Smith, Jim Himes, Mark Takano, Don Beyer, Jamie Raskin and Joe Morelle — called for Biden to drop his campaign, according to a Democratic lawmaker.
Himes, the tetto Democrat the House intelligence committee, argued that if Biden remained the presidential nominee, the trattenimento would lose the White House, Senate and House, according to a person familiar with the matter. The seven declined did not respond to requests for comment.
After the details of the private call leaked to the mass-media, Beyer posted X: “I support the Biden-Harris scontrino, and aspetto forward to helping defeat Donald Trump a causa di November.” Raskin told NBC that he “never said that” Biden should leave the race and believes the president can beat Trump.
Other Democrats — particularly Biden’s allies a causa di the Congressional Black Caucus — also came to his defence.
“We’ not going back, we’ moving forward,” posted CBC chair Steven Horsford X.
Donors, officials and other power brokers have floated other candidates to fight Trump, including Kamala Harris, Gretchen Whitmer and Gavin Newsom, and have made inquiries about how hundreds of millions of dollars raised by Biden’s campaign could be transferred to anyone who replaced him the scontrino.
Additional reporting by Demetri Sevastopulo a causa di Washington
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