President Joe Biden told congressional Democrats in a letter on Monday that he will continue his reelection bid despite mounting concerns about his mental fitness and the viability of his campaign.
“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,” Biden wrote in the letter, obtained by CNN.
Biden sought to put growing concerns about his viability to rest in the forcefully worded letter.
“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. 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,” Biden concluded. “It is time to come together, move forward as a unified party, and defeat Donald Trump.”
It’s a critical week for Biden’s political future as he seeks to tamp down intensifying fallout with the House and Senate back in session for the first time since the debate. More than a handful of top House Democrats told Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Sunday that Biden needs to step aside amid concerns about down-ballot Democratic races.
The president will continue his outreach to Democratic lawmakers this week, a campaign official tells CNN. Tuesday will be a consequential day as members are set hold a planned caucus meeting with Jeffries, and one member told CNN they anticipate that is the day when the dam will break.
Congress returns to Washington on Tuesday for the first time since the June 27 debate on CNN that prompted widespread concern over Biden’s ability to secure a victory for Democrats in November and to serve an additional four years in office.
In the week following his disastrous debate performance, Biden personally reached out to roughly 20 House Democrats, a campaign official tells CNN, and has spoken with party leaders — including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and Reps. Nancy Pelosi and James Clyburn — with a goal of reassuring them that the concerns within the party are being heard.
Since then, Schumer and Clyburn have voiced support for Biden, while Jeffries has remained mum.
Pelosi has said the questions surrounding Biden’s disastrous performance at the presidential debate were “legitimate.”
Asked about Pelosi’s comments, Biden told ABC News, “it was a bad episode. No indication of any serious condition. I was exhausted.”
On a call with senior House Democrats convened Sunday by Jeffries, a half-dozen lawmakers voiced their own concerns during a conversation one aide described to CNN as “pretty brutal.”
Those lawmakers — which CNN has reported to include Reps. Jerry Nadler, Adam Smith, Mark Takano and Joe Morelle — represent the highest-ranking Democrats on the Judiciary, Armed Services, Veterans Affairs and House Administration committees.
A campaign official declined to say whether the president had spoken directly with Sen. Mark Warner, the Virginia Democrat who organized a concurrent effort among like-minded senators to explore the possibility of an official request for Biden to step aside. Warner canceled a follow-up meeting scheduled for Monday evening, a source tells CNN, after news of the group’s efforts leaked. The next meeting will be Tuesday with Senate Democrats and their leadership.
Biden told ABC News that Warner was a “good man” but has a “different perspective.”
