President Joe Biden defiantly says he’s “not going anywhere” during his Michigan trip

President Joe Biden on Friday vigorously opposed the growing number of critics in his own party They called on him to drop out of the race, warned against a second term for Donald Trump and said he was “not finished yet.”

Mr Biden, now president, who is running for re-election, returned to the city on Friday Many in his party are now calling on him to fulfil that very promise and resign. Despite his disastrous performance in the debate, which sparked a wave of calls for him to withdraw his candidacy, he remains adamant about his commitment to stay in the race.

As a raucous crowd in Detroit chanted “Don’t give up!” and “We’re behind you!” Biden said – again – that he is still running for re-election and vowed to “shine a spotlight on Donald Trump” and what the Republican would do if he returned to the White House. Biden criticized a sweeping far-right political agenda of conservative think tanks, from which Trump has assiduously distanced himself, while checking off several items on his own wish list for the first 100 days of his second term.

At the same school where then-candidate Biden positioned himself as a bridge to the next generation of Democratic leaders four years ago, the controversial president, who has been under pressure to resign for more than two weeks, made it clear that he is not going anywhere.

“You made me the candidate, no one else – not the press, not the pundits, not the insiders, not the donors,” Biden said to applause. “You, the voters. You decided. No one else. And I’m not going anywhere.”

Biden’s show of force at the evening rally was part of his team’s relentless sprint to convince anxious lawmakers, nervous donors and a skeptical electorate that he can still be president at age 81. But a flurry of trips to swing states, interviews with journalists and a rare solo news conference have done little to dampen anxiety within the party about Biden’s candidacy and his prospects against Trump in November.

When asked why he no longer sees himself as a “bridge” to the next generation of leaders, Biden replied during a press conference on Thursday: “What has changed is the severity of the situation that I inherited on the economy, on foreign policy and on the domestic divisions.”

“We’ve never seen this before,” Biden continued. “And that’s the other reason, you say, why I haven’t handed over to another generation. I have to finish the job.”

In the two weeks since his debate debacle, Biden and his team have tried tirelessly to convince anxious lawmakers, nervous donors and a skeptical electorate that he can still be president at age 81. But a series of trips to swing states, interviews with journalists and a rare solo news conference have done little to dampen anxiety within the party about Biden’s candidacy and his prospects against Donald Trump in November.

So far, one Democratic senator and 20 Democrats in the House have publicly called on Biden to resign. The latest comments — from Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes, California Rep. Scott Peters and Illinois Rep. Eric Sorensen — came as the president’s highly anticipated press conference wrapped up Thursday night. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California, has suggested that Biden has yet to make a decision on whether to run, though the president has made clear he is still in the race.

Meanwhile, his re-election campaign team has indirectly acknowledged that Biden’s path to the White House is becoming increasingly narrow, declaring that the so-called “blue wall” of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania is now the “clearest path” to victory, even if other swing states such as Arizona and Nevada are not out of reach.

That strategy is reflected in how Biden is doubling down on his efforts in Midwestern states, traveling to Detroit nearly a week after campaigning in Madison, Wisconsin, Philadelphia and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Generating enthusiasm in Detroit and among its sizable black population could be critical to Biden’s chances of winning Michigan. Biden recaptured the city in 2020 after Donald Trump won it by just over 10,000 votes four years earlier.

He also mentioned Project 2025, a sweeping proposal for a federal government overhaul drafted by longtime allies and former Trump administration officials that Trump claims he knows “nothing” about.

“Have you heard about this? It’s a blueprint for a second Trump term that every American should read and understand,” Biden said, accusing his opponent of trying to run away from the plan, “just as he’s trying to distance himself from the overturning of Roe vs. Wade because he knows how toxic it is. But we’re not going to let that happen.”

Biden also criticized the media, claiming it focused on his mistakes rather than Trump’s. This prompted his supporters to boo reporters in the hall – a staple of Trump’s rallies – although Biden briefly tried to calm the boos by saying “no, no, no.”

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmerthe co-chair of Biden’s campaign, will not be in the state. Senator Gary Peters, a staunch Biden supporter, and Representative Elissa Slotkin, the vying for Michigan’s open Senate seatwill also be absent from the event. President of the United Auto Workers, Shawn FainMr Biden actively courted during the strikes last year and who met with him and other union leaders on Wednesday, is on his way to a conference.

In the meantime, Representative Hillary Scholtenwho is running for re-election in a swing district in western Michigan, has joined a growing list of national Democrats who have called on Mr Biden to step aside in favor of another candidate.

“Given the challenges our country faces in 2025 and beyond, it is crucial that we have the strongest possible candidate at the top of the electoral list – not only to win, but also to govern,” Scholten said in a statement on Thursday.

But in a swing state he won by nearly 3 percentage points in 2020, Biden continues to enjoy support. Reps. Debbie Dingell of Michigan, Haley Stevens, Shri Thanedar and AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler will all attend the Detroit event, which will be Biden’s fourth trip to the state this year. Oscar-winning actress Octavia Spencer is also scheduled to attend. And more than a dozen Detroit-area lawmakers signed a joint letter Thursday “to express our unwavering support for President Joe Biden.”

“As the Detroit Caucus, we are committed to mobilizing our communities, raising awareness and advocating for policies that benefit Black Michiganders,” the state lawmakers wrote in the letter. “We encourage all of our members and allies to join us in supporting President Biden and Vice President Harris.”

In 2016, Trump won Michigan by a narrow margin, partly due to lower voter turnout in predominantly black areas like Detroit’s Wayne County, where Hillary Clinton received far fewer votes than Barack Obama in previous elections.

Biden was able to recoup much of that support from four years ago when he defeated Trump in Michigan by 154,000 votes, but he still has a long way to go. Detroit, whose population is nearly 78% black, saw a 12% turnout in the Feb. 27 primary, nearly half the state’s overall turnout of 23%.

Important parts of Biden’s coalition in Michigan are also angry with him over the Israeli offensive following the Hamas attack on October 7. Michigan has the largest concentration of Arab Americans in the country, leading to over 100,000 people voted “Unbound” In Michigan’s Democratic primaries in February.