Read the letter President Biden sent to House Democrats telling them to support him in the election
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden wants the Democrats in Congress to know that he no intention to withdraw from this year’s electionsand sent them a letter on Monday with his own letterhead.
Here is Biden’s letter to the Democrats in Congress, whose support he will likely need:
Fellow Democrats,
Now that you’re back from the Fourth of July recess, I want you to know that despite all the speculation in the press and elsewhere, I am determined to stay in this race, to see this race through to the end and to beat Donald Tramp.
I have spent the last 10 days or so in extensive conversations with party leadership, elected officials, rank-and-file members, and, most importantly, Democratic voters. I have heard the concerns that people have — their genuine fears and anxieties about what is at stake in this election. I am not blind to them. Believe me, I know better than anyone the responsibility and burden that our party’s nominee bears. I bore it in 2020 when the fate of our nation hung in the balance. I also know that these concerns come from a place of genuine respect for my life of public service and my record as president, and I have been touched by the expressions of affection for me from so many who have known me well and supported me over the course of my public life. I am grateful for the unwavering, steadfast support of so many elected Democrats in Congress and across the country, and have drawn great strength from the resolve and determination I have seen from so many voters and grassroots supporters, even in the most difficult weeks.
I can answer this clearly and unequivocally: I would not run for re-election if I were not absolutely convinced that I am the best person to beat Donald Trump in 2024.
We had a Democratic nominating process and the voters spoke clearly and decisively. I received over 14 million votes, 87% of the votes cast in the entire nominating process. I have almost 3,000 delegates, which makes me the presumptive nominee of our party by a wide margin.
This was a process open to anyone who wanted to run. Only three people chose to challenge me. One did so poorly that he dropped out of the primary to run as an independent. Another attacked me for being too old and was defeated in a landslide. The voters of the Democratic Party voted. They chose me as the party’s nominee.
Are we just saying that this process didn’t matter? That voters have no say?
I refuse to do that. I feel a deep obligation to the faith and trust that the voters of the Democratic Party have placed in me to run this year. It was their decision to make. Not the press, not the pundits, not the big donors, not a select group of individuals, however well-intentioned. The voters — and the voters alone — determine the nominee of the Democratic Party. How can we stand up for democracy in our country if we ignore it in our own party? I cannot do that. I will not do that.
I have no doubt that I — and we — can and will defeat Donald Tramp. We have a historic record of success to build on. From creating over 15 million jobs (including 200,000 last month), to reaching historic lows in unemployment, to revitalizing American manufacturing by 800,000 jobs, to protecting and expanding affordable health care, to rebuilding America’s roads, bridges, highways, ports and airports, and water systems, to defeating Big Pharma and lowering the cost of prescription drugs, including $35 a month insulin for seniors, to providing student loan forgiveness for nearly 5 million Americans, to making a historic investment in the fight against climate change.
More importantly, we have an economic vision to run on that clearly defeats Trump and the MAGA Republicans. They are on the side of the wealthy and big business, and we are on the side of the working people of America. It was not an isolated moment for Trump to stand at Mar-A-Lago and tell the oil industry to give him $1 billion and he will do whatever they want.
That’s whose side Trump and the MAGA Republicans are on. Trump and the MAGA Republicans want another $5 trillion in tax cuts for the rich so they can cut Social Security and Medicare. We will never let that happen. This is trickle-down economics on steroids. We know the way to rebuild the economy is from the middle out and from the bottom up, not from the top down. We are finally going to make the rich and big corporations pay their fair share of taxes in this country. The MAGA party is also still determined to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which could take 45 million Americans out of coverage. We will never let that happen either. Trump got rich by denying black people rental housing. We have a plan to build 2 million new homes in America. They want to let Big Pharma charge whatever they want again. What do you think American seniors will think when they hear that Trump and the MAGA Republicans want to take away their $35 insulin — and the $2,000 prescription deductible cap that we Democrats just got? Or what do you think American families will think when they hear that Trump and the MAGA Republicans want to hit them with a new $2,500 national sales tax on all imported products they buy.
We’re the ones who lower the cost to families — from health care to prescription drugs to student loans to housing. We’re the ones who protect Social Security and Medicare. Everything they propose raises the cost to most Americans — except their tax cuts that go to the rich.
We protect the freedoms of Americans. Trump and the MAGA Republicans are taking them away. They took away a fundamental freedom from the American people for the first time in history by overturning Roe v. Wade. They decided that politicians should make the most personal decisions that should be made by women and their doctors and their loved ones. They’ve already said they won’t stop there — and they’re going after everything from contraception to IVF to the right to marry the people you love. And they’ve made it clear that they will ban abortion nationwide. We won’t let any of that happen. I’ve made it clear that if Kamala and I are re-elected and the nation elects a Democratic House and Senate, we will make Roe v. Wade the law of the land again. We are the ones who will bring real reform to the Supreme Court; Donald Trump and his majority want more of the same from the Court, and the chance to strengthen the right-wing majority they’ve built by undermining the norms and principles of the nomination and confirmation process.
And we stand up for American democracy. After January 6, Trump has proven himself unfit to ever hold the office of president. We can never let him anywhere near that office again. And we never will.
My fellow Democrats, we have the record, the vision, and the fundamental commitment to American freedoms and our democracy to win.
The question of how to proceed has been raging for over a week. And it’s time for it to stop. We have one job. And that is to defeat Donald Trump. We have 42 days until the Democratic Convention and 119 days until the general election. Any weakening of resolve or lack of clarity about the task ahead only helps Trump and hurts us. It’s time to come together, move forward as a united party, and defeat Donald Trump.
Honestly,
Joe Biden
Joseph R. Biden Jr.
President of the United States of America