President Joe Biden forcefully refused to leave the 2024 race Friday night, telling a raucous Detroit rally, “I am running and we’re gonna win.” Biden is skating on thin ice as he tries to restore confidence among Democrats after his disastrous debate against Donald Trump and following several verbal gaffes at a pivotal press conference Thursday. After a delay of more than an hour, President Joe Biden took that stage at a Detroit rally to waves of applause and chants of “We got your back” and “Don’t you quit!” Attendees drawn from labor unions and civil rights groups held signs saying “Motown is Joetown,” as the president basked in the blue collar audience.
Quick Read
- Biden from Detroit: ‘I’m running & we’re gonna win.’ Chants: ‘We got your back’
- President Joe Biden firmly stated his intention to stay in the 2024 race, telling a Detroit rally, “I am running and we’re gonna win,” despite pressure from within his party to step aside.
- At a suburban diner campaign stop, Biden assured supporters, “I promise you: I’m OK,” while acknowledging the growing number of Democrats calling for his withdrawal.
- During the Detroit rally, attendees chanted “We got your back” and “Don’t you quit!” while waving signs saying “Motown is Joetown.”
- Biden, addressing union members and Democratic voters, emphasized, “We gotta finish the job” and played down concerns about his age, saying, “With age comes a little wisdom.”
- Biden’s campaign downplayed his gaffes at a recent NATO press conference, where he mistakenly called Ukrainian President Zelenskyy “President Putin” and Vice President Harris “Vice President Donald Trump.”
- Biden’s campaign reported a surge in donations during the press conference, claiming to have received nearly 40,000 individual contributions, seven times the typical hourly rate.
- Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., praised Biden’s responsiveness and energy during a virtual meeting with the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.
- Biden is holding virtual meetings with various congressional caucuses, including the Congressional Progressive Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
- Despite recent setbacks, Biden is nearly tied with Trump in a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll, leading 50% to 48% in a head-to-head contest.
The Associated Press has the story:
Biden: ‘I’m running, we’re gonna win;’ Chants of ‘We got your back’ as he rallies in Detroit
Newslooks- Detroit- MI (AP) −
President Joe Biden forcefully refused to leave the 2024 race Friday night, telling a raucous Detroit rally, “I am running and we’re gonna win.” Biden is skating on thin ice as he tries to restore confidence among Democrats after his disastrous debate against Donald Trump and following several verbal gaffes at a pivotal press conference Thursday.
Making his case to union members and Democratic voters at an earlier campaign stop at a suburban diner, Biden said: “I promise you: I’m OK.” The handful of Democrats calling for Biden to step aside continued to grow on Thursday and Friday. One example: Swing state Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Ariz., said in a statement that “For the sake of American democracy, and to continue to make progress on our shared priorities, I believe it is time for the President to step aside as our nominee.”
Biden rejects Democratic panic
Biden gave no hint that he’s considering leaving the 2024 race.
“I’m running and we’re gonna win,” he told the crowd.
Chants of ‘We got your back’ as Biden rallies in Detroit
After a delay of more than an hour, President Joe Biden took that stage at a Detroit rally to waves of applause and chants of “We got your back” and “Don’t you quit!”
Attendees drawn from labor unions and civil rights groups held signs saying “Motown is Joetown,” as the president basked in the blue collar audience.
‘I promise you, I’m OK,’ Biden assures voters on the campaign trail in Michigan
Fresh off his high-stakes press conference the previous night, President Joe Biden brought his campaign to Michigan on Friday, stopping in the afternoon at a restaurant before an evening rally set for later in Detroit.
“We gotta finish the job,” Biden told about 50 people seated at tables at Garage Grill and Fuel Bar in Northville, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. “I promise you: I’m OK.”
“We love Joe” posters were displayed in the restaurant’s windows.
In remarks that lasted about 15 minutes, Biden did not directly address the growing number of Democratic detractors who want him to drop out of the election or his disastrous debate two weeks ago that set off panic within the party about his mental fitness.
“This is an important one,” he said of the election, before the 81-year-old Biden referred to his age. “For the longest time I was too young because I was the second youngest man ever elected to the United States senate and now I’m too old.”
“With age comes a little wisdom,” Biden said. “The alternative is not much of an alternative.”
Joe being Joe: Biden campaign downplays glaring gaffes at press conference
The Biden campaign waved away two major gaffes that President Joe Biden made during remarks at a NATO summit and press conference that followed on Thursday − both which attracted even more scrutiny over his mental sharpness. .
Biden turned heads by introducing Ukrainian President Volodymyr President as “President Putin,” the leader of Russia. And during the press conference he mistakenly called his vice president, Kamala Harris, “Vice President Donald Trump.”
But Biden’s reelection team didn’t miss a beat.
“Joe Biden has been making gaffes for 40 years. He made a couple last night. He will probably continue to do so,” said Michael Tyler, the campaign’s communications director.
Tyler then pivoted to the policies of former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, singling out Trump’s comments about a “bloodbath” if he loses the election and being a dictator on “day one,” while accusing Trump of wanting a nationwide ban on abortion.
“The voters of this country are smart,” Tyler said. “The voters watched the totality of that press conference. They saw the president lead on the global stage.”
Biden campaign says ‘donations exploded’ during press conference
The Biden campaign said Friday it received nearly 40,000 individual donations on the night of President Joe Biden’s press conference as team Biden sought to project momentum despite the emergence of more Democratic detractors.
“Donations exploded,” Michael Tyler, the Biden campaign’s communications director, told reporters on Air Force One while Biden was en route to Detroit for a Friday evening campaign rally.
Tyler said the campaign took in seven times its typical hourly haul during Biden’s one-hour press conference Thursday night – his first press conference since his disastrous debate with Donald Trump two weeks ago. Tyler did not provide a dollar amount.Reports by NBC News and other outlets have said the campaign’s fundraising has taken a major hit over the past two weeks while Democrats have called on Biden to drop from the election. The New York Times reported Friday that mega donors from Biden’s largest Super PAC, Future Forward, are putting $90 million in pledged contributions on hold if Biden remains the Democratic nominee.“The president gave answers to a wide range of questions reminding Americans that he is the best leader to continue to move our country forward and the best candidate to beat Donald Trump,” Tyler said.
Biden ‘energetic, responsive’ in meeting with Congressional caucus
Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., said in a statement that the virtual Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus meeting with President Joe Biden Friday afternoon was “productive.”
“President Biden heard our concerns and was energetic, responsive, and clear in communicating his messages and goals,” she said. “I thank the President for taking the time to have this meeting and hear our concerns.”
Biden meeting with Congressional caucuses
President Joe Biden is meeting virtually with various congressional caucuses as a chaotic week on Capitol Hill winds down.
He is meeting this afternoon with the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and will meet tomorrow with the Congressional Progressive Caucus, according to sources familiar with the meetings.
He has also reportedly scheduled meetings with the centrist New Democrat Coalition and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Biden met earlier this week with the Congressional Black Caucus.
Biden keeping up with Trump in new poll
Biden and Trump are nearly tied in new poll results released Friday by NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist.
Despite the president’s rocky debate performance and ensuing party fallout, Biden leads Trump 50% to 48% in a head-to-head contest. This is a one-point increase for Biden from last month’s poll by the same groups.
