I'm running this race to the end, Biden tells Democrats

Joe Biden is attempting to head off calls for him to step aside with a defiant letter to congressional Democrats, in which he says exiting the race would be an affront to democracy.

- ANDREW FEINBERG

The US president’s missive, which he released publicly on his X/Twitter account yesterday ahead of Congress’s return to Washington, opens with a declaration that he is “firmly committed” to remaining a candidate in this year’s presidential election and to “running this race to the end, and to beating Donald Trump”.

The president also said he has conducted what he described as “extensive conversations” with party leaders, elected officials and rank-and-file congressional Democrats – as well as Democratic voters – in the 10-plus days since his vacant, rambling performance at his first debate with Mr Trump left members of his party shocked and frightened of the possibility that the 81-year-old president is not up to the task of campaigning for a second term.

“I have heard the concerns that people have – their good faith fears and worries about what is at stake in this election. I am not blind to them,” he wrote. “I can respond to all this by saying clearly and unequivocally: I wouldn't be running again if I did not absolutely believe I was the best person to beat Donald Trump in 2024.”