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President Joe Biden started the week by insisting that he’s staying in the presidential race, calling into MSNBC’s Morning Joe and telling hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, “I am not going anywhere.”
Biden’s remarks came as some major prominent donors and more House Democrats have called for him to step aside following a dismal debate performance and a fresh round of concerns over his age. An interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos on Friday failed to quell continued anxiety that Biden is on his way to a defeat against Donald Trump in November.
Morning Joe is generally friendly territory for the president, although Scarborough, in the immediate aftermath of the debate, said that Biden should consider exiting the race. He later tempered the remarks, saying that Democrats needed to take some time given the stakes of the race.
“The bottom line is, we’re not going anywhere. I am not going anywhere. I wouldn’t be running if I didn’t absolutely believe I am the best candidate to beat Donald Trump in 2024. We had a Democratic nominating process where the voters spoke clearly.”
Biden also insisted that his debate performance was an aberration, telling the hosts that he has “not had many of those nights” in his career.
“Measure me [by] what I’ve done,” Biden said. “In terms of my neurological capacity, I had a physical, a neurological physical as well in February. It’s released. I’ve released all my records. All of them…And I have a neurological test every single day. Try sitting behind this desk and making these decisions.”
He also said that the calls for getting out of the race are coming from party elites, comparing that to the size of his crowds at recent campaign events in places such as North Carolina and Pennsylvania. He also suggested that “average” voters don’t share those electability concerns. “I’m getting frustrated by the elites… If any of these guys that don’t think I should run, run against me,” Biden said. “Go ahead, announce — announce for president. Challenge me at the convention.”
Biden said that he has been on the road “all over the country” while Trump “is riding around in his golf cart. …He hasn’t been anywhere in ten days.”
“I wanted to make sure I was right, that the average voter out there still wanted Joe Biden,” he said.
Among those in entertainment who have called for Biden to drop out are Reed Hastings and Damon Lindelof. On Sunday, another longtime donor and longtime party activist, Rob Reiner, said that the president should exit the race.
Another prominent figure, author Stephen King, this morning, called on the president to drop out. “Joe Biden has been a fine president, but it’s time for him—in the interests of the America he so clearly loves—to announce he will not run for re-election,” he wrote.
Biden’s call in to the show is a bit of a rarity, as his interviews are generally on-camera taped sit downs. Trump popularized the tactic, calling into Fox & Friends and numerous outlets during his 2016 campaign and ever since, maximizing his media exposure by just picking up the phone.
Biden also sent a letter to congressional Democrats this morning, saying that he is committed to staying in the race. “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,” Biden wrote.
In his Morning Joe interview, Biden said that he also was confident that “the press is with me. I think they’ve been fairly fair. I haven’t read any reporting they did today. But the fact is that … I think they’d have to acknowledge we had large crowds, enthusiastic crowds.”
Scarborough also asked Biden about his answer to Stephanopoulos on what he would do if he lost to Trump. On Friday, Biden suggested that he would feel that he “gave it my all.”
To Morning Joe, Biden said, “That’s not an option. And I’ve not lost. I beat him last time.”