Biden to donors: “If Trump doesn’t run, I’m not sure I will run.” We can’t let him win.”
President Joe Biden told his campaign donors on Tuesday that he was not sure who would run for re-election if Donald Trump did not also run, warning that democracy “is most at risk in 2024” and that the former president and his allies want to “destroy” democratic institutions. The president used three fundraisers to warn about what would happen if his predecessor regained control of the White House.
“We have to do this, not because of me. …If Trump doesn’t run, I’m not sure I will run. “We cannot let him win,” Biden said, pronouncing the final words slowly for emphasis.
Biden’s strong speech came at a time when Trump said: A favorite of the current Republican PartyHe, who tried to overturn the 2020 election that he lost and faces criminal charges related to those efforts, tried over the weekend to turn the tables by calling Biden the “destroyer of American democracy.”
Biden, who said he was not the only one who sounded the alarm about Trump, noted that his predecessor was “the only losing candidate” in US history who did not accept the results. Biden also said that on January 6, 2021, when Trump supporters violently stormed the US Capitol in a failed attempt to stop the certification of the election results, Trump sat in his dining room just outside the Oval Office.
The current president also highlighted recent warnings about Trump from former Congresswoman Liz Cheney, calling her a “strong voice.”
“American democracy is at stake, I give you my word,” the president said at the first of three fundraisers in the Boston area. Provoking some laughter among donors, Biden also said: “He did not even attend my inauguration.” “I can’t say I was disappointed, but he didn’t even show up.”
Biden’s warnings have become an increasing part of his rhetoric to donors: If Trump wins again, democracy is at stake and he must be defeated. The president is seeking to raise money for his re-election later this year, having participated in seven events as of Monday, with more on the way. The Boston events benefit his campaign and the Democratic Party in general. Among them is an evening event in the city’s Theater District featuring a concert by singer-songwriter James Taylor, who helped launch a White House event in 2022 to celebrate the Inflation Control Act, the climate and health care law that Biden signed into law.
On stage, Biden joked to the packed theater audience that he wouldn’t be late because he knew he was “the only thing standing” between the audience and Taylor’s performance. “We will always defend, protect and fight for democracy,” he said. “That’s why I run.”
November was the campaign’s biggest fundraising month since Biden formally announced last April that he was seeking a second term, according to a campaign official interviewed by The Associated Press. Official numbers will be released in January.
In October, Biden and the Democratic National Committee announced raising more than $71 million for his reelection efforts in the three months ending September 30, a sign that donors are sticking with him ahead of the 2024 presidential race.
Biden will also attend a fundraiser today near the White House and another on Monday in Philadelphia. This month, he will also participate in similar events in Washington and Maryland.
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