Biden pushes party unity as he resists calls to step aside, says he'll return to campaign next week
President Joe Biden is resisting pressure to drop out of the election and is appealing for party unity to take on former President Donald Trump’s “dark vision."
WASHINGTON (AP) — A growing chorus of Democratic lawmakers called Friday for President Joe Biden to drop his reelection bid, even as the president insisted he’s ready to return to the campaign trail next week to counter what he called a “dark vision” laid out by Republican Donald Trump.
As more Democratic members of Congress called for him to drop out Friday — bringing the total since his disastrous debate against Trump to at least 30 — Biden remained isolated at his beach house in Delaware after being diagnosed with COVID-19. The president, who has insisted he can beat Trump, was huddling with family and relying on a few longtime aides as he resisted efforts to shove him aside.
Biden said Trump's acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention showcased a “dark vision for the future." The president, seeking to move the political conversation away from his fate and onto his rival's agenda, said Friday he was planning to return to the campaign trail next week and insisted he has a path to victory over Trump, despite the worries of some of his party's most eminent members.
“Together, as a party and as a country, we can and will defeat him at the ballot box,” Biden said. “The stakes are high, and the choice is clear. Together, we will win.”
