In the Detroit Speech, Joe Biden says he will remain in the race

DETROIT — An energetic, fast-talking President Joe Biden rallied supporters here Friday evening with sharp attacks on his rival, Donald Trump, and a second-term vision he still wants to pursue.

“There’s been a lot of speculation lately: What will Joe Biden do?” Biden said as he kicked off a half-hour speech to a crowd of more than 2,000 supporters in a high school gym. “I’m running and we’re going to win.”

Biden’s speech included an account of his legislative achievements and their effects on Michigan, a key swing state, including green energy investments that will fund new electric vehicle factories and Medicare reforms that will lower the cost of prescription drugs for seniors and people with a disability.

But the core of Biden’s speech was a long, detailed attack on what Trump did when he was previously in the White House — and what he might do when he returns next year.

Biden mentioned the provisions of “Project 2025,” a right-wing agenda published by the conservative Heritage Foundation that envisions a second Trump term that would dramatically expand the powers of the presidency, shrink the welfare state, and roll back reproductive rights. The authors include prominent former and current Trump advisers, although Trump has recently tried to distance himself from the document.

“We’re going to stand up for women in America, we’re going to protect contraception, we’re going to protect IVF, we’re going to restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land,” Biden said Friday.

Biden was equally methodical in attacking Trump personally, calling the former president a “convicted criminal” who would destroy democracy if given the chance.

“It’s time to stop treating politics as entertainment,” Biden said. “Another four years of Donald Trump is deadly serious.”

With star-spangled bunting hanging from the gym’s viewing areas and a Michigan crowd covered in color-coordinated union shirts, the event had the feel of an ordinary effort to win votes in a closely contested swing state.

But this is no ordinary moment in American politics.

Biden hears more and more pleas for him to withdraw from the race over fears that he cannot beat Trump. Those concerns intensified — and exploded in public opinion — after an awkward debate performance in late June, followed by a series of media reports questioning his mental and physical capabilities.

The final blows came Friday, when three more Democrats in the House of Representatives called on Biden to step aside.

But Biden has insisted he remains Democrats’ best chance to beat Trump. And on Friday evening, Biden addressed his critics at length, quoting some of them new, more favorable opinion polls and the number of votes he collected during the Democratic primaries.

“I am the nominee of the Democratic Party, the only Democrat or Republican to ever defeat Donald Trump,” Biden said. “And I’m going to beat him again.”

Biden acknowledged his age and occasional rhetorical stumbles, and early in his speech he appeared to lose track of his thoughts for a moment as he introduced members of Michigan’s delegations to Congress.

But overall, Biden seemed excited and feeding off the raucous crowd. He even did a little jump in the middle of his typically purposeful walk off the stage.

Biden also threw shade at party elites and the media, the latter of whom, he said, ignored Trump’s often incoherent rants.

“Trump gets a free pass,” Biden said.

It’s not clear to what extent performances like Friday’s rally will satisfy Democrats, who worry that Biden cannot perform as well in high-pressure, unscripted conditions like last month’s presidential debate, when he was left out managed to make exactly the kind of case he did here. Friday evening.

Similar concerns appear to be on the minds of loyal Democrats. In recent polls majorities of party voters have said they hope Biden steps aside so another Democrat can take charge.

But that wasn’t the sentiment in the crowd Friday night, at least based on a few people who spoke to JS.

“I want to see him finish this,” said Ramez Khuri, 47, who lives in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and works at a Ford Assembly Plant that builds Broncos and Rangers. ‘I support him. I think he just had a bad night. And we all have bad nights.”

Frank Arvan, a 68-year-old retired architect from Royal Oak, was less emphatic in his confidence.

“The polls are close. Anyone watching would be concerned,” Arvan said. But he said he trusted Biden to make the right decision and found it hard to believe that “there are so many people in this country who are getting carried away by Donald Trump’s scam.” I just can’t believe there are so many people who believe he is good enough to be president.”

Tina Moore, 51, said Biden’s determination to keep running made her feel even more strongly about supporting him. “Honestly, I like his tenacity,” said Moore, an employment lawyer in Detroit’s northern suburbs. “He has a lot of naysayers, and he just ignores them. I think he’s done a great job and I think he’ll continue to do a great job.”

Moore is a graduate of Howard University, and she noted that Biden’s selection of Vice President Kamala Harris, a colleague of Howard’s, had made a big impression on her.

Moore was there with her daughter, Brooklyn Forbers, who is about to enter high school. Polls show Biden struggling to excite or even reach younger voters, given how little they rely on traditional news sources.

But Forbers said the message coming out on her social media (mainly TikTok) was skewed toward Biden, especially because of the way Trump appears. “He’s kind of goofy; I don’t really take him seriously,” Forbers said. “How can you take him seriously if he doesn’t even engage in debate out there?”

Forbers said she also sees many mentions of Project 2025 in her feed, including references to provisions that would make it harder to divorce or take away the rights of women and the LGBTQ community.

“It’s a little scary,” she said.