Biden insists on staying in race against Trump in US election

President Joe Biden on Friday appealed for party unity to take on former President Donald Trump's “dark vision," working to hold off pressure from Democrats at the highest levels for him to bow out of the 2024 election to make way for a new nominee and avoid widespread losses.

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 testing positive for Covid-19.

The president, who has insisted he can beat Republican Donald Trump, was huddling with family and relying on a few longtime aides as he tries to resist efforts to shove him aside.

Biden, in a Friday statement, said Trump's acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention on Thursday, 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 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.”

'Lot of work to do'

Earlier in the day, his campaign chair, Jen O'Malley Dillion, acknowledged “slippage” in support for the president, but insisted he is “absolutely” remaining in the race and that the campaign sees “multiple paths" to beating Trump.

“We have a lot of work to do to reassure the American people that yes he’s old, but he can win," she told MSNBC's “Morning Joe” show.

But she said voters concerned about Biden's fitness to lead aren't switching to vote for Trump. “They have questions, but they are staying with Joe Biden," she said.

At the same time, the Democratic National Committee’s rulemaking arm held a meeting Friday, pressing ahead with plans for a virtual roll call before Aug. 7 to nominate the presidential pick, ahead of the party’s convention later in the month in Chicago.

“President Biden deserves the respect to have important family conversations with members of the caucus and colleagues in the House and Senate and Democratic leadership and not be battling leaks and press statements,” Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, Biden’s closest friend in Congress and his campaign co-chair, told The Associated Press.