“I’m not going anywhere.” As the number grows pressure from his own party to withdraw, Joe Biden insists on being the candidate The American president made these statements during a rally in Detroit, clinging to the candidacy despite the voices that ask him to step aside and that have been growing after his disastrous performance in the first presidential debate against Donald Trump.

“I am the nominee”“, Biden declared on Friday as he resumed his campaign in Michigan, a key state for Democrats in the race against the Republican tycoon.You chose me as a candidate, no one else. Not the press, not the experts, not the donors. You, the voters. You decided, no one else, and I I’m not going anywhere“, concluded the 81-year-old president, immersed in an internal crisis and increasingly under questioning.

A situation that has not been helped by his recent lapses, after confusing Zelensky with Putin this week or calling his own ‘number two’, Kamala Harris, “Vice President Trump”. This, in a context in which more than 15 legislators from the Democratic Party They have already publicly requested that it be withdrawn of the electoral race, as well as dozens of political analysts and influential figures from the media and entertainment world.

The president, however, shows no signs of giving up on his efforts and has entrenched himself in defending his candidacyclaiming that he is the only one who can beat Trump at the polls on November 5.

“I promise I’m fine”

Thus, after the electoral break due to the NATO summit held this week in Washington, Biden has once again put his focus on the presidential elections. Before the rally, he held a direct meeting with his voters in the small town of Northville, with about 6,000 inhabitants, where He used irony in the face of criticism for his age. “I’m here to finish the job. There are still things to do. I know I’m only 41 years old“, he joked.

The June 27 debate debacle has overshadowed his campaign, and it is not the first time that Biden has resorted to humor to try to downplay allusions to his age. “For a long time, I was too young. I was the second-youngest man ever elected to the Senate. And now I’m too old, but I know that, hopefully, with age comes a little wisdom,” argued the Democratic president, who is only three and a half years older than Trump. “I promise I’m fine”he stressed.

Biden recalled that in 2020 he ran for president with the idea that it was time to restore ethics to politics, and this Friday he insisted on the same line, stressing that his Republican rival cannot be considered an alternative. “This is an important moment. (…) Decency matters,” he argued, stressing that he has never been more optimistic about the United States’ chances and claiming the “many advances” of his mandate.

An optimism that contrasts with the growing calls for him to withdraw his candidacy, both from within his own ranks and from prominent Hollywood figures, such as George Clooneyor Ashley Judd.

In addition, an exclusive published by ‘NBC News’ highlights that several advisers very close to Biden believe that there is no viable path for him to beat Trump and that he should “retire” BECAUSE “He will never be able to recover” from his poor performance in the debate and the increasing attention paid to his age and his ability to govern for four more years.

The New York Times also reports that major Democratic donors have told Biden’s largest pro-Biden political action committee, Future Forward, that His promise to contribute 90 million dollars will be put on hold if you go ahead. Trumpmeanwhile, remains ahead in the polls and next week he will see his Republican candidacy confirmed at his party’s convention.