Washington: President Joe Biden on Monday again insisted he would not withdraw from the US election race as the White House denied he has Parkinson’s disease after a disastrous debate.
The 81-year-old dared Democratic critics to either challenge him at the party’s convention next month in Chicago or support him against Donald Trump on the November ballot.
The president hit back in both a letter to Congress and a rare television call at the start of a critical week that includes a NATO summit in Washington where he will face new scrutiny.
“I am firmly committed to staying in the race,” Biden wrote in the letter.
“It’s time to come together, move forward as a united party and defeat Donald Trump,” he said. “It’s time for this to end.
The embattled president followed up with a phone call to MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” to say he was “so frustrated with the elites” in the party.
“Any of these guys who don’t think I should run — run against me. Run for president, challenge me at the convention,” he added.
But even as he doubled down, pressure was mounting on the oldest president in US history.
Congressman Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said Biden should back down.
“I think it’s clear that he’s not the best person to carry the Democratic message,” he told CNN.
Biden’s blitz was a clear attempt to calm spiraling concerns about his health after the June 27 debate against Republican Trump, whom he trails in the polls.
During the debate, Biden repeatedly lost his thoughts, stared blankly and spoke at times incoherently and in a hoarse voice. Biden blames jetlag and a cold.
The White House also felt the pressure with tense exchanges at Monday’s press briefing.
Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called for “respect” as reporters attacked her refusal to confirm reports that a Parkinson’s expert had visited the White House eight times.
Visits by Kevin Cannard, a neurologist at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where Biden receives his medication, were recorded in publicly available visit logs.
“Was the president being treated for Parkinson’s? No. Is he being treated for Parkinson’s? No, he’s not. Is he taking medication for Parkinson’s? No,” Jean-Pierre said.
The White House also denied reports that NATO allies attending the 75th anniversary summit in Washington this week expressed concern about Biden.
“We’re seeing no sign of that from our allies,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters.
But NATO leaders sought reassurance in any case when polls predicted a Trump victory in November.
The former president has long criticized the defense alliance, expressed admiration for Russian strongman Vladimir Putin and insisted he could quickly end the war in Ukraine.
The NATO summit begins on Tuesday, the same day that Democrats, returning from a short break on Capitol Hill, will hold a caucus meeting to discuss Biden’s fate.
In recent days, five Democratic lawmakers have publicly called on him to drop out of the race — with Smith becoming the sixth.
On Sunday, US media reported that four senior congressmen – including Smith – said during a call with party lawmakers that it was time for Biden to bow out.
The Democrat trails Trump in most polls, even though his rival was recently convicted of a felony in the porn star cover-up case.
But efforts to oust Biden won’t be easy.
First Lady Jill Biden fiercely defended her husband and did so again Monday as she began a trip to Georgia, Florida and North Carolina.
“Despite all the talk about this race, Joe made it clear he was all in,” she said at a veterans event in Wilmington, North Carolina.
Many allies also got involved.
The head of the Congressional Black Caucus, Steven Horsford, said Monday that Biden was “elected by millions of voters across this country.”
Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Biden’s home state of Delaware told reporters it would be a “huge mistake” to get rid of the president.
