Joe Biden Plans to Stay in the Race and Remains Committed to Second Presidential Debate in September: Report

President Biden and former President Donald Trump had their first presidential debate on June 27, which aired on CNN

President of the United States Joe Biden and Former President Donald Trump participate in the first Presidential Debate at CNN Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, United States on June 27, 2024.
Joe Biden in 2024. Credit :

Kyle Mazza/Anadolu/Getty

President Joe Biden does not plan to step aside in the 2024 presidential race.

According to reports, Biden, 81, plans to continue his bid for reelection and is also committed to debating with presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump again in September.

"NEW, as just reported on @CNN: Not only does @POTUS not plan to drop out, Biden remains committed to a second debate in September, an adviser tells me," CNN's Senior White House correspondent Kayle Tausche posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, June 28.

The update comes one morning after the first presidential debate for the 2024 election, where Biden had a muffled voice and struggled to keep up with his competitor's fast-talking.

PEOPLE has reached out to the Biden campaign for comment about speculation that he could drop out.

US President Joe Biden, right, and former US President Donald Trump during the first presidential debate in Atlanta, Georgia, US, on Thursday, June 27, 2024.
Donald Trump and Joe Biden in 2024.

Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg/Getty

Biden's debate with Trump, 78, on Thursday, June 27, sparked concerns in the Democratic Party, with some political pundits and strategists quickly questioning whether a last-minute change of their nominee is possible before the Democratic National Convention in August.

The president appeared out of sorts at times, and a source familiar told PEOPLE that Biden had a cold, offering an explanation for why his voice sounded hoarse.

There were also moments where he was hard to understand, and his sentences seemed to run on without him fully hitting home the points he wanted to make. When he had the chance to confront Trump, he often failed to do so with clarity, reinforcing fears about his age.

Trump, meanwhile, spouted many debunked lies about the hot-button issues raised, and deflected responsibility for the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots, prior to which he told his supporters to "fight like hell" to take the country back.

“On Jan. 6, we were respected all over the world. All over the world we were respected. And then [Biden] comes in, and we got laughed at," Trump claimed.

Biden responded that Trump “encouraged those folks to go to Capitol Hill” and had “sat there for three hours watching” while he was asked to intervene and stop the attacks.

US President Joe Biden delivers a speech during the US ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the World War II "D-Day" Allied landings in Normandy, at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in Colleville-sur-Mer, which overlooks Omaha Beach in northwestern France, on June 6, 2024
Joe Biden in 2024.

DANIEL COLE/POOL/AFP via Getty

Trump also insinuated he wouldn't accept the outcome of the 2024 election unless it is fair and legal by his standards. He then claimed without evidence that the 2020 election, which he lost to Biden, wasn't fair.

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The second presidential debate is scheduled for Sept. 10, airing on ABC with David Muir and Linsey Davis moderating.

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