US President Joe Biden is looking forward to “returning to the campaign trail next week”, reinforcing his commitment to stay in the race as a growing number of Democrats call for him to step down as the party’s nominee.
“The stakes are high and the choice is clear. Together we will win,” he said.
His statement comes amid conflicting reports about conversations within Mr Biden’s team and the broader party about the president’s future.
In recent weeks, the president has been caught in a whirlwind of political pressure to resign: calls from his own party leaders to drop out of the race, the loss of major donors and mounting pressure that his decision could cost Democrats control of Congress.
On Friday alone, at least ten Democrats called for his resignation as his campaign protested in the media.
Biden’s re-election campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon appeared on MSNBC’s Morning Joe on Friday and told the show that the president would not withdraw.
“The president is definitely going to be in this race,” she said when asked about Mr Biden’s plans.
She described him as “more committed than ever to defeating Donald Trump” and said he was “best suited” to take on the former president.
In his statement, the president referenced former President Trump’s speech at the Republican National Convention to say he would continue to “expose the threat” of the former president while “defending” his record.
“Donald Trump’s dark vision of the future is not who we are as Americans. Together, as a party and as a country, we can and will defeat him at the ballot box,” he said.
As the conflict unfolded on Friday, the president was in quarantine at his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. He tested positive for Covid-19 while traveling in Las Vegas earlier this week. Mr Biden is experiencing “mild symptoms”, the White House said.
Since last month’s poor debate performance, Mr Biden has maintained that he will continue running, although his views on what it would take to resign as the Democratic nominee have changed.
Having first told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos that “only Almighty God” could make him resign, Biden said this week in an interview with BET (Black Entertainment Television) that he would reassess his campaign if his doctor told him he had a serious health condition.
According to a campaign memo released Friday, Mr Biden is not going anywhere.
“Joe Biden has made it clear: He is in this race and he is in it to win,” the memo said. “Moreover, he is the presumptive nominee — there is no plan for an alternative nominee. In a few short weeks, Joe Biden will be the nominee. It is time to stop fighting each other. The only person who wins when we fight is Donald Trump.”
Time is running out for Mr Biden to decide whether to resign.
The Democratic National Convention opens on August 19, but the Democratic National Committee is expected to meet virtually the first week of August to nominate Biden as the party’s official nominee to meet state ballot deadlines.
The DNC’s rules committee will meet Friday morning to discuss online roll call voting procedures.
On Friday, Democratic Sen. Martin Heinrich, of New Mexico, became the third Democrat in the Senate to call for Biden to resign.
“By passing the torch, he will preserve his legacy as one of our nation’s greatest leaders and allow us to unite behind a candidate who can best defeat Donald Trump and protect the future of our democracy,” he wrote in a statement on X, formerly Twitter.
His statement followed that of Democratic Senator Jon Tester, of Montana, who called on Biden to end his re-election bid on Thursday.
“While I appreciate his commitment to public service and his country, I believe President Biden should not seek another term,” Tester wrote in a statement on X.
In the House, Rep. Jim Costa, a Democrat from California, also called on him to withdraw on Thursday.
Democratic Sens. Jared Huffman of California, Marc Veasey of Texas, Chuy Garcia of Illinois and Mark Pocan of Wisconsin issued a joint statement Friday saying that “the most responsible and patriotic thing” Biden could do was “resign as our nominee.”
“With deep admiration for you as a person, sincere respect for your decades of public service and patriotic leadership, and profound gratitude for everything we have accomplished together during your presidency, it is now time for you to pass the torch to a new generation of Democratic leaders,” they wrote in a joint statement.
Illinois Democratic Congressman Sean Casten wrote in the Chicago Tribune on Friday that he doesn’t think the president can beat former US President Donald Trump.
“It is with a heavy heart and much personal reflection that I call on Biden to pass the torch to a new generation,” he wrote.
Other House members joined the call for the president to resign on Friday, including Zoe Lofgren of California, Kathy Castor of Florida, Greg Landsman of Ohio and Betty McCollum of Minnesota.
Reports this week suggest that top Democratic leaders are following a similar trend.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are all said to have privately expressed concerns about Biden’s candidacy. In public statements, Pelosi’s staff have said her comments were misrepresented and Jeffries has reiterated his support for Biden.
Former President Barack Obama, who was Mr Biden’s vice presidential running mate, is reported to have said Mr Biden’s chances of winning the election have diminished significantly.
Lawmakers aren’t the only ones turning their backs on Biden. Big donors — including actor George Clooney and Disney heiress Abigail Disney — have closed their wallets.
Despite the defectors, he still had some supporters.
New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, one of the most influential progressive voices in the House, has been endorsing Biden for weeks. She went live on Instagram Friday morning and talked about the risks of going into the convention without Biden as the presumptive nominee, including potential legal challenges and ballot access deadlines.
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus, which has about 40 members, and the Congressional Black Caucus, which has 60 members, have both met with the president and also expressed support for his re-election bid.
