Congressman Dan Goldman says mission of Democrats is the same no matter who their candidate is
President Joe Biden remained defiant Friday, vowing to get back on the campaign trail next week despite pressure from his own party calling on him to drop out of the presidential race.
A super PAC of Democratic activists put out a new campaign video, calling on the president to "pass the torch."
President Biden is not hearing any of it. He issued a statement Friday afternoon saying, "I look forward to getting back on the campaign trail next week. The stakes are high, and the choice is clear. Together, we will win."
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who represents New York, continued to put her support behind the president.
"I think he's a great president, I think he's a great presidential candidate," she said. "He will defeat Trump. He will kick his butt, and we are all in. This is a clear choice between what we stand for and what the Republican party stands for."
Biden has been off the campaign trail since he was diagnosed with COVID on Wednesday, isolating in his Delaware home. This is reportedly giving him an opportunity to sit and digest new polling data, and really listen to his advisors.
"You have heard from the president directly time and again," said Biden-Harris campaign chair Jennifer O'Malley Dillon. "He is in this race to win, and he is our nominee, and he is going to be our president for a second term."
Still, the chorus of calls for Biden to step aside continues to grow, with two additional Democratic senators joining that list overnight.
ABC News reports that privately, Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi and Hakeem Jefferies, have spoken with the president about his candidacy and how it may negatively impact democratic congressional races.
"I had a private conversation with President Biden that will remain private," House Minority Leader Jefferies. "I think the events of the last few days have made clear that there is a tremendous contrast between what President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Democrats in the House represent."
That's the position of Biden loyalists, who feel the president has rightfully earned his spot at the top of the ticket and that the policy divide between the Democrats and Republicans will put him over the top in November.
"When November 5th rolls around, whoever the Democratic candidate will be - it will be very clear that there is one party that truly does believe in Democracy, and there is another party that wants to give Donald Trump a dictatorship," said Congressman Dan Goldman of New York.
There had been word that Biden was becoming more receptive to calls for him to withdraw from the race, but on Friday afternoon, there was no public indication of that.
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