President in a letter urges Democrats to ‘come together, move forward as a unified party.’
WASHINGTON—President Joe Biden stated in a letter to congressional Democrats on July 8 that he is determined to stay in the 2024 presidential race.
He urged them to band together and move forward as a unified party.
“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 end, and to beating Donald Trump,” President Biden wrote in the letter.
The president mentioned that he has had “extensive conversations” with party leadership, elected officials, rank-and-file members, and Democrat voters over the past 10 days.
“I have heard the concerns that people have,” he said. “I am not blind to them.”
The letter was issued at a pivotal moment in his campaign after a small group of Democratic lawmakers called on him to drop out of the race following his June 27 debate with former President Donald Trump.
The president reminded congressional Democrats that the nomination process is “open to anyone who wanted to run.”
“We had a Democratic nomination process and the voters have spoken clearly and decisively,” he said.
“I received over 14 million votes, 87 percent of the votes cast across the entire nominating process. I have nearly 3,900 delegates, making me the presumptive nominee of our party by a wide margin.”
He later added: “It was their decision to make. Not the press, not the pundits, not the big donors, not any selected group of individuals, no matter how well-intentioned. The voters—and the voters alone—decide the nominee of the Democratic Party.”
President Biden made the letter public on social media platform X.
“The question of how to move forward has been well-aired for over a week now. And it’s time for it to end. We have one job. And that is to beat Donald Trump,” he wrote.
“We have 42 days to the Democratic Convention and 119 days to the general election. Any weakening of resolve or lack of clarity about the task ahead only helps Trump and hurts us.”
By Emel Akan
