"Biden Goes All In, Determined to Push Forward... Democrats Aim to Nominate Candidate This Month"

"I know how to do this job (the presidency)."

Under pressure to withdraw his candidacy, U.S. President Joe Biden reiterated his determination to pursue the presidency by saying "I'm all in" at his first public campaign event since the shooting incident involving former President Donald Trump. Despite ongoing calls for his withdrawal, the Democratic Party leadership is rushing to officially nominate President Biden as their presidential candidate early this month.

[Image source=Getty Images Yonhap News]

On the 16th (local time), President Biden made this speech at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) event held in Las Vegas, Nevada. This marked his first public campaign event three days after the shooting incident involving former President Trump on the 13th.

Starting by introducing himself as a lifetime member of the NAACP, President Biden dismissed the pressure to withdraw by saying, "I'm all in." Regarding concerns about his age and cognitive decline, he emphasized his sufficient capability and experience to carry out the presidency, stating, "I know how to tell the truth. I know right from wrong. I know how to do this job."

President Biden referenced former President Harry Truman's remark, "If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog," and indirectly addressed the calls for his withdrawal within the party by saying, "Over the past few weeks, I understood what he meant." He added, "I hope to gain a little wisdom as I grow older."

He also resumed his offensive against former President Trump, who has been nominated as the Republican presidential candidate. While warning against the political polarization intensifying due to the shooting incident, Biden pointed out, "Lowering the temperature of politics related to violence does not mean we should stop telling the truth."

Furthermore, he appeared to rally his core supporters among Black, Latino, and other people of color represented by the NAACP, saying that a second Trump administration would "tear everything down." He stated, "Former President Trump halted 'Obamacare' for Black people during his tenure and pursued tax cuts for the wealthy," and emphasized, "Unlike Trump's tax cuts for big corporations, I will make 1,000 billionaires pay a wealth tax." Following the NAACP event, President Biden is scheduled to campaign the next day at the UnidosUS Conference, the largest Latino community organization in the U.S.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

Amid persistent calls for President Biden to withdraw his candidacy, Democratic Party leadership is reportedly pushing to finalize the nomination within this month. The New York Times (NYT) cited multiple Democratic officials reporting that the Democratic National Committee (DNC) leadership will hold a related meeting on the 19th and conduct a week-long virtual vote for the nomination starting on the 22nd. As a result, assessments suggest that the likelihood of President Biden voluntarily withdrawing from the presidential race has decreased.

However, as these plans became known, opposition within the Democratic Party has also emerged. Letters obtained by major foreign media from some Democratic lawmakers described the move as "unnecessary and unprecedented," warning that it "could seriously damage the morale and unity of the Democratic Party at the worst possible time." Earlier, Representative Jared Huffman, who had called for President Biden's withdrawal, criticized the leadership, saying, "(They are) suppressing debate and exercising the highest level of power to push this through."