Joe Biden delivered a defiant speech in the battleground state of Michigan on Friday night, emphatically rejecting doubts about his viability as the Democratic presidential nominee.
Biden held the rally in a Detroit high school gym as part of a visit to key battleground states that chose Trump in 2016 and Biden in 2020. As the audience chanted “Don’t quit,” he took the stage and addressed the speculation head-on, saying, “I’m running. And we’re going to win. I’m not going anywhere.”
Throughout his speech, Biden reiterated his plans for a second term, including enacting abortion rights, signing the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, erasing medical debt, raising the minimum wage and banning assault weapons.
He also directly attacked Trump, calling the former president and Republican front-runner a “loser” and challenging his record on jobs and the economy.
“Donald Trump is the only president in American history other than Herbert Hoover who lost more jobs than he took office,” Biden said. “So I call him Donald ‘Herbert Hoover’ Trump.”
He also addressed Trump’s ongoing legal battles, including his conviction over hush money payments to Stormy Daniels, the sex abuse case involving E. Jean Carroll and his handling of classified information.
“Do you really want to go back to the chaos we had when Donald Trump was president?” he asked the crowd, to which they responded with a resounding “No!”
Biden also took aim at Project 2025, a policy plan led by the right-wing Heritage Foundation think tank, which Trump has sought to disparage and which Democrats have criticized as demonstrating Biden’s more radical policy stance.
“Project 2025 is the largest attack on our system of government and individual liberty ever proposed for this country,” Biden said, outlining the plan’s aims to criminalize the transportation of abortion pills, deny insurance coverage for contraception, cut Medicare and abolish the Department of Education.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” he said. “This is not a joke. It’s time to stop treating politics like entertainment or a reality show. Four more years of Donald Trump is extremely serious. It’s extremely serious.”
He ended his speech with a joke about his age, saying “I know I look 40,” and told the audience, “With age comes wisdom.”
“I know how to tell the truth, I know right from wrong, and I believe I have demonstrated how to do this job,” he said. “We’re going to stop Donald Trump. Let’s get it done.”
The speech was initially well received among critics and voters, with MSNBC’s Chris Hayes giving it a thumbs up. To tell It was a “best performance” [Biden’s] “Given since the State of the Union”
The move will be welcomed by Biden’s team as calls for the 81-year-old president to step down grow in Washington. House Democratic leaders said they discussed the issue with Biden on Thursday after his news conference following the NATO summit.
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York said in a letter to colleagues that the discussion about Biden’s age and fitness for duty had been “frank, calm and comprehensive.”
“On behalf of the House Democratic Caucus, I have requested, and been graciously granted, a private meeting with President Joe Biden,” he said.
“That meeting took place yesterday evening… I directly expressed my extensive insights, heartfelt views and conclusions on the way forward.”
Biden’s response was not made public, nor were the details of the Democrats’ “conclusions” released. But after the letter was made public, the 18th Democratic congressman Said Biden should hire someone else to take on Donald Trump in November.
Rep. Mike Levin of California is the 19th Democrat to say Biden should resign. report Politico reported that Levin told the president face-to-face during a virtual meeting with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus on Friday, after which he publicly stated his position.
Politico too Quote A “Biden-supporting Democrat who attended the meeting” said the president’s remarks were “very clear, incisive and passionate.”
There was more worrying news for Democrats. The New York Times report As long as Biden remains the nominee, major donors will hold back “approximately $90 million in pledges.”
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The Sunrise Movement also called for Biden to resign. Al-Shiney Ajayi, executive director of the youth-led climate activist group, said: Said “I’m concerned that Joe Biden is not in a position to mobilize and win with young voters,” she said.
The nation’s capital was abuzz as Biden traveled to Detroit. At a NATO summit on Thursday, Biden spoke assertively and demonstrated his foreign policy experience, but also made embarrassing gaffes, including referring to Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky as “President Putin” and calling Vice President Kamala Harris “President Trump.”
Trump capitalized on this, posting on social media: “Bad Boy Joe started his ‘Big Boy’ press conference with, ‘I wouldn’t have picked VP Trump as my VP, but I don’t think she’s qualified to be president.’ Well done, Joe!”
“I would not have chosen Trump as my vice president,” Biden reportedly said. [if] I don’t think she’s fit to be president.”
Online, Biden Fight backposted, “Btw I know the difference. One is a prosecutor, the other is a felon.”
Trump, 78, whose cognitive abilities have been called into question, was convicted of 34 criminal counts linked to payments to adult film stars. He faces 54 criminal charges, including election interference and possessing classified information, and was fined millions of dollars in a civil lawsuit for business fraud and defamation stemming from a rape allegation that a judge called “substantially true.”
There was some good news for Biden on Friday. Pole His behavior has shown signs of improvement since the disastrous debate with Trump in Atlanta that plunged the Democratic Party into crisis.
“Biden actually increased by one point from last month’s survey, which was conducted before the debate.” NPR’s Domenico Montanaro writes:conducted a poll in collaboration with PBS, Marist“He’s leading Trump 50% to 48% in head-to-head contests. But when third-party options are introduced, Biden falls behind and Trump… [leading] “It’s 43%-42%.”
but POLITICO They noted a clear disparity in the reactions to Biden’s NATO speech: One Biden aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the president exceeded expectations and delivered some great lines, while a Democratic aide said Biden “lowered the bar … until it hit the floor.”
Jim Clyburn of South Carolina,Dean Black Caucus“Sometimes I slip up on words and phrases, but all of that is pretty much natural for someone who grew up with a stutter,” Biden told NBC.
He added: “He’s one of the most brilliant minds I’ve ever come across, so I hope we’ll look at the character of this man and how he’s governed this country.”
When asked, “Is this the same Joe Biden we saw four years ago?” Clyburn replied, “No!”
“I’m not the Jim Clyburn I was four years ago, and I’ll be 84 in 10 days. But I’m a little wiser than I was before… It’s biblical. When I grew up, I put away my childish things. Joe Biden grew up, and he put away his childish things. His opponent is [Trump] He’s still a child.”
The Associated Press contributed reporting
