‘I’m not going anywhere,’ Biden says as campaign struggles
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Mr Biden told diners he planned to “finish the job”, and said of Trump, “the alternative is not much of an alternative.”
PHOTO: AFP
Follow topic:
DETROIT, Michigan - Seeking to revive his struggling re-election campaign, US President Joe Biden held a rare rally in Detroit on July 12, telling a cheering crowd he is not going to leave the race and warning that Republican Donald Trump poses a serious threat.
Mr Biden, 81, is trying to shift the conversation from his mental sharpness and a growing number of Democratic defections to the impact of another Trump presidency, as he tries to reboot his campaign after a shaky debate performance
“I am running, and we’re going to win,” he said to a crowd that carried “Motown is Joetown” signs and chanted “Don’t you quit” before he spoke.
“I’m the nominee,” he said. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Pointing to the press area in the gym, Mr Biden said: “They’ve been hammering me,” to which the crowd booed.
“Guess what, Donald Trump has gotten a free pass,” he added.
“Hopefully with age comes a little wisdom,” Mr Biden said, in a defiant and sometimes gleeful performance. “Here’s what I know – I know how to tell the truth, I know right from wrong... and I know Americans want a president, not a dictator.”
Mr Biden also laid out at the rally what he intended to do with his first 100 days of a second term, including codifying abortion rights, signing the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, ending medical debt, raising the minimum wage and banning assault weapons.
These sweeping changes would be difficult or impossible without Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress.
While union and religious leaders attended, Michigan’s Governor Gretchen Whitmer and its Democratic senators, Ms Debbie Stabenow and Mr Gary Peters, did not.
Earlier on July 12, Mr Biden made a surprise stop at a garage-themed restaurant in a Detroit suburb, where he told diners he planned to “finish the job” and said: “I promise you... I’m okay.”
Mr Biden got a boost earlier in the day when two prominent Democrats – Representative James Clyburn and California Governor Gavin Newsom – said he should stay in the race.
On the afternoon of July 12, United Auto Workers president Shawn Fain, who had previously said he was worried about Mr Biden’s chances, praised him for standing “with the working class”,
But there were signs that his support was weakening elsewhere, as two more lawmakers called on him to drop out.
“It is time to move forward. With a new leader,” Representative Mike Levin, from California, said in a statement.
Mr Levin, like many others who have called on Mr Biden to drop out, faces a competitive re-election battle of his own in 2024.
Since the debate, at least 19 lawmakers have urged him to step aside, so the party can pick another candidate, as have some donors, Hollywood stars, activist groups and news outlets.
Mr Biden retains support from key figures in the party, however, less than five months from the Nov 5 election.
“I’m riding with Biden no matter which direction he goes,” Mr Clyburn said on NBC’s Today programme.
Mr Newsom likewise said he was sticking with Mr Biden in an interview excerpt released by CBS.
Mr Clyburn, 83, is a respected voice among black Americans whose support is essential to Mr Biden’s 2024 campaign, while Mr Newsom, 56, is one of several younger governors who are widely seen as the future of the party.
While Mr Biden courted Michigan voters, Trump challenged him on July 12 to take a cognitive test, writing on Truth Social: “I will go with him, and take one also. For the first time, we’ll be a team, and do it for the good of the country.”
Trump will be in the national spotlight next week, when the Republican Party holds its convention in Milwaukee to award him the presidential nomination.
Crucial calls
Democrats are worried that Mr Biden’s low approval ratings and growing concerns that he is too old for the job
As he worked to stem further defections, Mr Biden held separate phone calls with groups of Hispanic, Asian and Democratic lawmakers, according to aides.
While the Hispanic group’s top two leaders have endorsed Mr Biden, some other members have not stated their positions.
Democratic officeholders, donors and activists are trying to determine whether Mr Biden is their best bet to defeat Trump and serve another four-year term in the White House.
The New York Times reported that unnamed donors have told a pro-Biden Super PAC that roughly US$90 million (S$120.7 million) in pledges will remain on hold as long as he remains in the race.
As Air Force One flew to the Motor City, campaign spokesman Michael Tyler told reporters that donations had “exploded” during Mr Biden’s press conference on the night of July 11 to seven times the usual level.
Jeffries meets Biden
Mr Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic leader in the House of Representatives, said he met Mr Biden on the night of July 11 to convey the range of thoughts his 213-member caucus held about Mr Biden’s candidacy.
He did not say whether he personally thought Mr Biden should stay in the race.
“I directly expressed the full breadth of insight, heartfelt perspectives and conclusions about the path forward,” Mr Jeffries wrote in a letter to colleagues.
The July 11 press conference provided fodder for Mr Biden supporters and doubters alike. At one point, he referred to Vice-President Kamala Harris as “Vice- President Trump”.
Hours earlier, he introduced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as “President Putin” at the Nato summit,
Mr Biden occasionally garbled his responses at the press conference, but also delivered detailed assessments of global issues that served as a reminder of his decades of experience on the world stage.
With most US voters firmly divided into ideological camps, opinion polls show the race remains close.
An NPR/PBS poll released on July 12 found Mr Biden leading Trump 50 per cent to 48 per cent, a slight increase from his position before the June 27 debate.
But some analysts have warned that Mr Biden is losing ground in the handful of competitive states that will determine the outcome of the election.
“If current trends continue, Mr Trump could rack up one of the most decisive presidential victories since 2008,” Democratic strategist Doug Sosnik wrote in the New York Times. REUTERS
