President Joe Biden doubled down on staying in the presidential election despite concerns after his poor debate performance last week.
At a rally in Madison, Wisconsin on Friday, Biden told the crowd that he was “running” and was “going to win” the presidential election again.
“You probably heard, we had a little debate last week,” Biden told the crowd. “Can’t say it was my best performance. But, ever since then, there’s been a lot of speculation, ‘What’s Joe going to do? Is he going to stay in the race? Is he going to drop out? What’s he going to do?’ Well, here’s my answer, I am running and going to win again.”
I'm not letting one 90-minute debate wipe out three and a half years of work.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 5, 2024
I'm staying in the race, and I will beat Donald Trump. pic.twitter.com/5VZHf4N4xj
As the crowd began chanting, “Let’s go, Joe!” Biden told them that he was the “sitting President of the United States of America,” adding that voters “came through” for him in the 2020 presidential election.
“I’m the nominee of the Democratic Party,” Biden added. “I’m the nominee of this party because millions of Democrats like you just voted for me in primaries all across America.”
Biden went on to slam people who did not “seem to care” who voters had voted for during the primaries, adding that people were “trying to push” him out of the presidential race.
“Let me say this as clearly as I can, I’m staying in the race,” Biden added. “I’ll beat Donald Trump. I’ll beat him again in 2020. By the way, we’re going to do it again in 2024.”
Biden’s words come a week after his performance at the presidential debate against former President Donald Trump left many Democrat officials, donors, and voters panicked and questioning whether Biden would be able to serve another term as president.
While Biden has continued to receive support from Democrats such as former President Barack Obama, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), others such as Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) and Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), along with several Democrat donors, have called for Biden to withdraw and “step aside” from the presidential race.
On Wednesday, Biden met with Democrat governors, telling them that he was “definitely running” and reassuring them that he would be able to defeat Trump. After the meeting, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI), and Gov. Roy Cooper (D-NC) issued messages of support for Biden.
