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Biden to donors: “If Trump didn’t run, I’m not sure I would run.” We can’t let him win.
President Joe Biden told his campaign donors on Tuesday that he wasn’t sure he would run for re-election unless Donald Trump also ran, warning that democracy was “at its greatest risk in 2024” and that former President and his allies want to “destroy” democratic institutions. With three fundraisers, the president warned of what could happen if his predecessor regains control of the White House.
“We have to do it, not because of me.” … If Trump didn’t run, I’m not sure I would run. We can’t let him win,” Biden said, saying the final words slowly for emphasis.
Biden: If Trump hadn’t run, maybe I wouldn’t have either
Biden’s strong rhetoric came as current GOP front-runner Trump, who sought to overturn the lost 2020 election and is facing criminal charges in connection with those efforts, tried to turn the tables over the weekend by calling Biden a “destroyer of American democracy.” designated.
Biden, who said he was not the only one to raise the alarm about Trump, noted that his predecessor was “the only losing candidate” in U.S. history who did not accept the results. Biden also said that Trump was sitting in his dining room just outside the Oval Office on January 6, 2021, when Trump supporters violently stormed the US Capitol – a failed attempt to prevent the certification of the election results.
The sitting president also pointed to former congresswoman Liz Cheney’s recent warnings about Trump, calling her a “powerful voice.”
“American democracy is at stake, I give you my word,” the president said at the first of three campaign fundraisers in the Boston area. Provoking some laughter from donors, Biden also said, “He didn’t even show up at my inauguration.” I can’t say I was disappointed, but he didn’t even show up.
Biden’s warnings are increasingly part of his speech to donors: If Trump wins again, democracy is at stake and he must be defeated. The president is pushing to raise money for his re-election later this year and is attending seven events through Monday, with more on the way. The events in Boston benefit his campaign and the Democratic Party in general. That included an evening event in the city’s Theater District with a concert by singer-songwriter James Taylor, who helped kick off a 2022 White House event celebrating the Inflation Reduction Act, a climate and health care law that Biden signed into law.
Onstage, Biden joked to the packed theater audience that he wouldn’t hesitate because he knew he was “the only one” standing between the audience and Taylor’s performance. “We will always defend, protect and fight for democracy,” he said. “That’s why I’m running.”
According to a campaign official interviewed by The Associated Press, November was the month in which the campaign raised the largest amount of donations since Biden officially announced he was seeking a second term last April. The official figures will be published in January.
In October, Biden and the Democratic National Committee reported raising more than $71 million for his reelection efforts in the three months ended Sept. 30, a sign that donors are standing by him ahead of the 2024 presidential campaign.
Biden will also attend a fundraiser near the White House today and another on Monday in Philadelphia. He will also attend similar events in Washington and Maryland this month.
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