President Joe Biden will return to Michigan on Friday, according to two sources familiar with the plans, as he tries to bounce back from his first debate of 2024 against Republican Donald Trump.
Biden, the Democratic incumbent, will travel to Detroit, according to the sources, who declined to be identified because they were not yet authorized to speak publicly about the campaign stop.
This will be Biden’s fourth trip to Michigan this year, with 116 days to go until the Nov. 5 presidential election. Four years ago, Biden beat then-President Trump by 154,000 votes, or 3 percentage points, 51 percent to 48 percent, in Michigan.
However, Biden’s campaign has faced turbulence since the June 27 debate, during which he gave a handful of meandering and confusing answers, including at one point declaring, “We finally beat Medicare.”
The 81-year-old Biden’s performance prompted some pundits and politicians to call on him to step aside and let Democrats choose someone else to face Trump this fall. Biden has rejected their pleas and said he will win the election.
“I will not let a 90-minute debate undo three and a half years of work,” Biden tweeted Friday. “I am staying in the race and will beat Donald Trump.”
Then, on Saturday, he posted: “I beat Trump in 2020. I will beat him again in 2024.”
More:Sen. Mark Warner seeks to rally group of Democratic senators to call on Biden to drop out of race
More:For a defiant Biden, the 2024 primary race depends on voters, not Democrats on Capitol Hill
Biden was in Wisconsin on Friday, he will travel to Pennsylvania on Sunday, and he will be back in Michigan next Friday. Together, these three states helped propel Biden to victory in 2020 and to 44 electoral votes in 2024.
Biden was interviewed by ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos in Wisconsin on Friday.
“I’m convinced of two things: I’m the most qualified person to beat him and I know how to get things done,” Biden said of Trump in the interview.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, both potential future Democratic presidential contenders, have continued to voice their support for Biden. Newsom campaigned for Biden in Michigan on Thursday.
“Joe Biden is our president,” Newsom said during a stop in South Haven. “He said he was all in on his campaign. I doubled down, I said I was all in on my campaign. And not only that, but I’m here with you to prove it.”
More:Tempers flare as Trump revisits abortion bill for Republican agenda
Trump’s last trip to Michigan was June 15, when he spoke at a Detroit church and a convention of conservative activists. Trump took aim at Biden in a post on the social media platform Truth Social Friday.
“Corrupt Joe Biden should ignore his many detractors and move forward, with alacrity and force, with his powerful, far-reaching campaign,” Trump wrote.
cmauger@detroitnews.com
News Source : www.detroitnews.com
Gn usa
