President Joe Biden will travel to Austin to deliver a speech Monday at the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library.
The president’s speech will commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, which was signed by President LBJ on July 2, 1964. Biden’s public appearance comes as calls mount within the Democratic Party for him to drop out of the presidential race after he struggled in a debate with former President Donald Trump last month.
Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), whose district includes Austin, was the first Democrat in Congress to call on Biden to end his campaign, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
“Instead of reassuring voters, the President failed to effectively defend his many accomplishments and expose Trump’s many lies,” Doggett said after the debate.
His appearance in Austin on July 15 begins a three-day trip for the president, according to the White House. Biden will travel to Las Vegas to speak about racial justice at the 115th NAACP National Convention on July 16. He will then speak at the UnidosUS Annual Conference on July 17 to discuss his policies on prescription drug prices, Latino uninsured rates, and Latino small businesses.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) met with House Democrats from competitive districts Monday who reportedly expressed concerns about Biden’s fitness to serve as president, according to The Washington Post. Jeffries has maintained his support for Biden’s reelection campaign since the debate.
Biden said Monday on MSNBC’s Morning Joe that he plans to stay in the race.
“I’m getting so frustrated by the elites — now I’m not talking about you guys — the elites in the party, ‘Oh, they know so much more.’ Any of these guys that don’t think I should run, run against me. Announce [a run] for president, challenge me at the convention,” the president said.
Biden sent a letter Monday to House Democrats asking them to “end” calls for him to drop out of the race, according to Axios. The president declared he is “firmly committed to staying in the race.”
“I have heard the concerns that people have … I am not blind to them,” Biden wrote. “I wouldn’t be running again if I did not absolutely believe I was the best person to beat Donald Trump in 2024.”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre faced criticism from White House reporters Monday after she refused to provide information about a meeting between Biden’s physician and a leading Parkinson’s disease specialist.
Next up, the president is set to deliver a speech Tuesday to commemorate the 75th anniversary of NATO.