President Joe Biden defended his position at the top of the Democratic ticket on Monday in a televised surprise interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” after more lawmakers and donors came forward over the weekend with concerns about his re-election bid.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Biden said in the phone interview. “I absolutely believe that I am the best candidate to beat Donald Trump in 2024.”
“I am so disappointed in the elites of the party” calling for him to resign, the president fumed. “I don’t care what millionaires think.”
Since Biden’s disastrous performance on June 27, several Democratic donors have been sounding the alarm about whether he can beat former President Donald Trump in November.
Biden insisted to hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski that the concerns of his wealthy supporters would not dictate his political future.
“I want their support, but that’s not why I’m running,” Biden said. “I’m not running on what they think and what they care about. And by the way, you don’t see a whole hell of a lot of them flocking to Trump. You don’t see a lot of CEOs flocking to Trump.”
“I’m not going to explain any more about what I should or shouldn’t do,” added the president defiantly. “I’m running. I’m running”
Biden’s comments came after a weekend where his political wounds appeared to deepen. Despite his campaign’s efforts to stem the bleeding, more lawmakers, donors and generals have made their doubts public.
During a meeting of top House Democrats on Sunday, four more top Democrats told party leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York that Biden should drop out of the 2024 race, according to NBC News: Reps. Adam Smith, Wash.; , Jerry Nadler, NY, Mark Takano, CA and Joe Morelle, NY
They joined five other House Democrats who had already publicly called on Biden to step down last week, including Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., who announced her position on Saturday.
On Monday, Biden sent a letter to congressional Democrats doubling down on his commitment to stay in the 2024 race as they all returned to Washington after the recess.
“The question of how to move forward has been well framed for over a week. And it’s time for it to end,” Biden wrote in the letter. “Any weakening of resolve or lack of clarity about the task ahead only helps Trump and hurts us.”
Last week, Biden held several meetings and phone calls with Democratic lawmakers and allies, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Jim Clyburn, DSC., House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N. Y. and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y.
Last Friday, Biden also participated in a 22-minute interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos, though he did not appear to address Democrats’ concerns.
Next week, Biden will be busy meeting for the NATO summit in Washington, where he has a dual mandate: Unifying foreign allies around support for Ukraine and allaying Democratic concerns about his re-election bid.
On Thursday, Biden is scheduled to hold a press conference where all eyes will be watching to see if the president can redeem himself in an unscripted environment, taking provocative questions. The president is also expected to make more calls to lawmakers in the coming days to reassure them.
Some lawmakers see the coming week as a defining moment for the fortunes of the Biden campaign.
“The clock is ticking,” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., a close ally of the president, said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “This is going to be a really important and vital week for the country and for the President.”
