President Biden issued a challenge to his critics on Monday, telling them to “challenge me at the convention” if they wanted to drop out of the race, and he refused to back down in a defiant letter to Democratic lawmakers and a fiery speech on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
Mr Biden responded to calls for him to use the intimate venue of the morning news show to show the energy he lacked in the anodyne June 27 debate, declaring himself “frustrated by the elites” who have called on him to step down from the race.
Mr. Biden repeatedly raised his voice during the brief telephone interview, even after one of the moderators asked whether he had undergone a neurological examination after the debate. Sounding irritated and angry, Mr. Biden denied claims that his physical and mental abilities had not been tested.
“It really makes me angry to see people talking about this,” he said.
Less than an hour before the interview began, Mr. Biden’s campaign released a letter to congressional Democrats in which the president said he was “firmly committed to staying in the race”—a sharp retort to allies on Capitol Hill who are increasingly calling publicly for him to step down.
“The question of how we move forward has been well-discussed for more than a week,” Mr. Biden wrote in a two-page letter released by his campaign. “And now it is time to end it. We have one job: to defeat Donald Trump.”
On “Morning Joe,” the president reiterated his intention not to back down, saying he doesn’t care about any of the top lawmakers or pundits calling on him to do so, including the top Democrats on the Judiciary Committee, Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York and Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts.
“I don’t care what those celebrities think,” Mr. Biden said in a fairly high-pitched voice.
“If any of these people think I shouldn’t run, run with me,” he added. “Go ahead and declare your candidacy for president. Challenge me in the convention.”
He also repeated his claim that he is the only Democrat capable of serving as president, a claim that has been central to his four years in office and one that helped fuel his campaign against former President Donald J. Trump.
“Who do you think could intervene here and do something like this?” he told the hosts. “I expanded NATO.”
The letter and impromptu interview came a day after several senior House Democrats said in a private conference call that Mr Biden should drop out of the race, putting enormous pressure on the president and his advisers.
In a letter that appeared intended to stave off further calls for his resignation as lawmakers return to Washington on Monday, Mr. Biden appeared to be losing patience with the chorus of condemnation pouring in from Capitol Hill, the news media and elsewhere.
The two-page letter rejects criticism, denies claims of his shortcomings and calls for unity.
“With 42 days until the Democratic National Convention and 119 days until the general election,” he wrote, “any weakness in resolve or lack of clarity about what lies ahead will only help Trump and harm us.”
The president made no concessions in his letter about his age or his ability to perform the duties of the presidency, nor did he mention the possibility of a heated campaign against President Trump in the coming months.
Instead, he argued that those who tried to force him out of the race were rejecting the will of the voters who participated in the primary process, although he noted that the opposition he faced was merely symbolic.
“This was a process that was open to anyone who wanted to run. Only three decided to challenge me,” Mr. Biden wrote. “One did so poorly that he dropped out of the primary and ran as an independent. Another attacked me for being too old and lost badly. The Democratic voters voted. They chose me as their party’s nominee.”
He added: “Are we now saying that this process is not important? I refuse to do that.”
Mr. Biden spent much of the letter reciting his own record. He cited creating 15 million jobs, “defeating Big Pharma,” investing in climate change, and improving the nation’s infrastructure. He contrasted this with what he called the economic vision of “Trump and the MAGA Republicans.”
But it’s unclear whether the letter will blunt concerns from his allies on Capitol Hill. It repeats arguments Mr. Biden has made in campaign appearances since the debate and in an interview with ABC News on Friday.
