Biden pans Trump’s ‘dark vision,’ vows return to campaign trail next week

President Biden said Friday that former President Trump offered a “dark vision for the future” during his speech at the Republican National Convention the prior night, standing firm that he is not dropping out of the 2024 race.

“Last night the American people saw the same Donald Trump they rejected four years ago. For over 90 minutes, he focused on his own grievances, with no plan to unite us and no plan to make life better for working people,” Biden said in a statement.

Biden insisted he will again beat Trump in November, amid growing calls for the president to step off the Democratic ticket. Calls from members of his party grew louder on Friday, when Sen. Martin Heinrich (N.M.) became the third Democratic senator to push for Biden to move aside, and four House Democrats issued a joint statement urging the president to end his reelection bid.

“Donald Trump’s dark vision for the future is not who we are as Americans. Together, as a party and as a country, we can and will defeat him at the ballot box,” Biden said.

“I look forward to getting back on the campaign trail next week to continue exposing the threat of Donald Trump’s Project 2025 agenda while making the case for my own record and the vision that I have for America: one where we save our democracy, protect our rights and freedoms, and create opportunity for everyone,” he added.

Biden tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday while he was campaigning in Las Vegas and has been isolating at his Rehoboth Beach, Del., home.

The president also noted Friday that Trump “avoided mentioning his Project 2025 agenda, but still proudly flaunted the worst of MAGA extremism,” echoing the response from his campaign chair, Jen O’Malley Dillon, to the former president’s speech at the convention Thursday night.

O’Malley Dillon said Trump “failed to mention Project 2025 even once.” The Biden campaign has sought to connect the former president to the controversial conservative policy blueprint from the Heritage Foundation, while Trump and his team have aggressively tried to distance themselves from it.

Biden World was digging in its heels Friday, defiant that he is not dropping out while reports swirl that he is making an announcement regarding his future in the coming days.

Updated at 1:44 p.m. EDT