Biden campaign digs in as Democrats brace for more calls on president to drop out

• President Joe Biden will be in Detroit to deliver a campaign speech a day after he committed to remaining in the 2024 presidential election race.
• Three more Democrats called on Biden to quit the race against former President Donald Trump on the heels of a press conference in Washington on Thursday night.
• Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina, a Biden ally, suggested there is plenty of time for Biden to change his mind before the Democratic National Convention in August.

The reelection campaign of President Joe Biden started the day Friday facing the very real prospect that even more Democrats will call on him to quit the race against former President Donald Trump and allow a new nominee to top the ticket.

Shortly after Biden gave a rare news conference Thursday that was intended to allay fears about his cognitive health, three more House Democrats said he should exit the contest, making for at least 18 Democratic members of Congress so far who have called on him to drop out.

But Biden at the conference reiterated he would continue running for a second term, saying that nothing would make him reconsider that decision save for polls showing he had now chance of winning.

"No one's saying that," said Biden, who was set to give a campaign speech in Detroit later Friday. "No poll says that."

Biden made it through the hour-long press conference and answered reporters' questions, prompting his campaign to declare victory over his naysayers.

But his halting speech and his misstatements — such as referring to Vice President Kamala Harris as "Vice President Trump" — did little to win over members of his party. Nor did his argument for why he was staying in the race.

"I think I'm the most qualified person to run for president,"