Washington.- President Joe Biden wants Democrats in Congress to know he has no intention of withdrawing from this year’s election, sending them a letter on his personal letterhead on Monday.
Below is Biden’s letter to the congressional Democrats whose support he likely needs:
Fellow Democrats,
Now that you’re back from the July 4th recess, I want you to know that, despite all the speculation in the press and elsewhere, I am firmly committed to staying in this race, to running this race to the finish, and to beating Donald Trump.
I have had extensive conversations with party leaders, elected officials, rank-and-file members, and most importantly, Democratic voters over these past 10 days or so. I have heard the concerns people have, their fears and good-faith worries about what is at stake in this election. I am not blind to them. Believe me, I know better than anyone the responsibility and burden our party’s nominee carries. I carried it in 2020 when the fate of our nation hung in the balance. I also know that these concerns come from a place of true respect for my life of public service and my record as President, and I have been touched by the expressions of affection toward me from so many people who have known me well and supported me throughout my public life. I have been grateful for the steadfast and unwavering support of so many elected Democrats in Congress and across the country and have drawn great strength from the resolve and determination I have seen in so many grassroots voters and supporters even in the most difficult weeks.
I can answer all of this by saying clearly and unequivocally: I would not run again if I did not absolutely believe that I was the best person to beat Donald Trump in 2024.
We had a Democratic nomination process and the voters spoke clearly and decisively. I received over 14 million votes, 87% of the votes cast during the entire nomination process. I have nearly 3,000 delegates, making me the presumptive nominee of our party by a wide margin.
This was an open process for anyone who wanted to run. Only three people decided to challenge me. One did so badly that he dropped out of the primaries to run as an independent. Another attacked me for being too old and was soundly defeated. The voters of the Democratic Party voted. I was elected as the party’s candidate.
Are we now saying that this process was of no importance? That voters have no voice or vote?
I refuse to do so. I feel a deep obligation to the faith and trust that the voters of the Democratic Party have placed in me to run this year. It was their decision, not the press, not the pundits, not the big donors, not any select group of individuals, no matter how well-intentioned. The voters — and they alone — decide who the Democratic Party nominee is. How can we defend democracy in our nation if we ignore it in our own party? I cannot do it. I will not do it.
I have no doubt that I — and we — can and will defeat Donald Trump. We have a historic track record of success to campaign on. From creating more than 15 million jobs (including 200,000 last month), achieving record low unemployment, revitalizing American manufacturing with 800,000 jobs, protecting and expanding affordable health care, rebuilding America’s roads, bridges, highways, ports and airports, and water systems, defeating Big Pharma and lowering the cost of prescription drugs, including $35 a month insulin for seniors, to forgiving student debt for nearly 5 million Americans and investing historic money in the fight against climate change.
Most importantly, we have an economic vision that clearly outshines Trump and the MAGA Republicans. They are on the side of the rich and big corporations, and we are on the side of working people in America. It was not an isolated moment when Trump stood at Mar-A-Lago and told the oil industry that they should give him a billion dollars and he would do whatever they wanted.
On that side are Trump and the MAGA Republicans. Trump and the MAGA Republicans want another $5 trillion in tax cuts for the rich so they can cut Social Security and Medicare. We will never let that happen. It’s trickle-down economics on steroids. We know the way to build the economy is from the inside out and the bottom up, not the top down. We’re finally going to make the rich and big corporations pay their fair share of taxes in this country. The MAGA party also remains determined to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which could leave 45 million Americans without coverage. We will never let that happen either. Trump got rich by denying rental housing to black people. We have a plan to build 2 million new housing units in America. They want to let Big Pharma charge whatever they want again. What do you think America’s seniors will think when they learn that Trump and the MAGA Republicans want to take away their $35 insulin, as well as the $2,000 limit on out-of-pocket prescription drug costs we Democrats just imposed on them? Or what do you think American families will think when they learn that Trump and the MAGA Republicans want to hit them with a new $2,500 national sales tax on all imported goods they buy?
We are the ones who are driving down costs for families, from health care to prescription drugs to student debt to housing. We are the ones who are protecting Social Security and Medicare. Everything they are proposing increases costs for most Americans, except their tax cuts, which will go to the wealthy.
We are protecting the freedoms of the American people. Trump and the MAGA Republicans are taking them away from us. They have already taken away for the first time in history a fundamental freedom from the American people by overturning Roe v. Wade. They have decided that politicians should make the most personal decisions that women, their doctors, and their loved ones should make. They have already said they will not stop there, and they will go after everything from contraception to IVF to the right to marry who you love. And they have made it clear that they will ban abortion nationwide. We will not allow any of that to happen. I have made it clear that if Kamala and I are re-elected, and the nation elects a Democratic House and Senate, we will make Roe v. Wade the law of the land again. We are the ones who will bring true reform to the Supreme Court; Donald Trump and his majority want more of the same from the Court, and the opportunity to join the right-wing majority they built by subverting the norms and principles of the nomination and confirmation process.
And we are defending American democracy. After January 6, Trump has proven that he is unfit to serve as president. We can never allow him to come close to that office again. And we never will.
My fellow Democrats, we have the record, the vision, and the fundamental commitment to American freedoms and our democracy to win.
The question of how to move forward has been hotly debated for over a week and it is time for it to end. We have one task: defeat Donald Trump. The Democratic Convention is 42 days away and the general election is 119 days away. Any weakening of resolve or lack of clarity about the task ahead only benefits Trump and hurts us. It is time to come together, move forward as a unified party, and defeat Donald Trump.
Sincerely,
Joe Biden
José R. Biden Jr.
President of the United States of America
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