Top Democrats on Sunday ruled out replacing President Joe Biden as the party’s top candidate for the November presidential election, after the White House incumbent’s shaky performance in the first debate against Republican Donald Trump on Thursday.
While the Democratic camp was stunned by the difficulties displayed by Joe Biden, 81, during the CNN debate against his predecessor and rival Donald Trump, 78, several party officials firmly rejected the possibility of choosing another, younger candidate for the November 5 election at their national convention in August. This possibility, the subject of speculation even before the debate, has since been favored by a growing number of voters and observers. A poll conducted for CBS shows that the percentage of Democratic voters who do not want Joe Biden to be the party’s nominee has climbed from 36% to 46%.
“The unfortunate truth is that Biden must withdraw from the race, for the sake of the nation he has served so admirably for half a century.”, wrote The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC), daily newspaper in the capital of Georgia, where the debate took place. Georgia is considered one of the decisive states for the presidential election. “The shadow of retirement is now necessary for President Biden“, added the AJC in a column published on Sunday.
Several prominent Democratic elected officials have rejected this idea. “Absolutely not”reacted the senator of Georgia, Raphael Warnock, considered one of the potential replacements of Joe Biden for the nomination of the Democratic Party. “A bad debate happens”he said on NBC’s Sunday show “Meet the Press.” “The question is, ‘Who has Donald Trump ever stood for, other than himself and people like him?’ I stand with Joe Biden, and our mission is to make sure he comes out on top in November,” he continued.
“The only one who can beat Trump”
In recent days, voices have already been raised to attribute the “counter performance” Biden’s campaign has blamed a busy schedule ahead of the debate and shortcomings in its preparation, pointing the finger at senior advisers to his campaign team. Biden spent Sunday at Camp David, the second home of American presidents, with members of his family who, according to the New York Times, urged the leader not to withdraw from the electoral race and to continue fighting. According to the newspaper, citing sources familiar with the matter, members of his clan have privately expressed their exasperation with the way Joe Biden’s advisers prepared him for the debate against Donald Trump .
Hakeem Jeffries, a House speaker who could become the speaker next year if Democrats win control in November, admitted that Joe Biden suffered a setback in the debate, but added that it was for “better come back strong”. “The moment we find ourselves in is that of ‘comeback’” he said on MSNBC. Joe Biden is “the only democrat who can beat donald trump”said Delaware Senator Chris Coons, ABC.
With the support he has, Joe Biden is in a position to decide for himself whether to continue his campaign or ultimately abstain from seeking re-election. Still, some Democrats have raised the possibility of choosing another candidate for the presidential election. Representative Jamie Raskin, an influential voice for Democrats in Congress, said that conversations “very honest, serious and rigorous” were taking place within the party. “Whether (Joe Biden) is the nominee or someone else is the nominee, (Biden) will be the keynote speaker at our convention”he said on MSNBC. “He will be the personality around whom we will rally moving forward.”
