While Joe Biden has been under pressure since his disastrous debate with Donald Trump, during which he spoke several times inaudibly, voices are beginning to be heard publicly within the Democrats themselves asking him to step down.
Democrats have begun to publicly question Biden’s fitness, as the White House and the president himself have tried, with little success, to contain the fire after the failed debate against Donald Trump, citing fatigue from the president’s recent international travels.
“I am hopeful that he will make the difficult and painful decision to step down. I respectfully call on him to do so.”wrote Texan Lloyd Doggett in the middle of the day. This Democratic congressman is the first to publicly demand that the president throw in the towel.
Faced with the anxiety that is flaring up in her party, Vice President Kamala Harris said on Tuesday, July 2 “proud” to be the “running mate” Of the president. “Joe Biden is our candidate, we beat Donald Trump once and we will beat him again”she told CBS News. An optimism that is rare in the Democratic camp, very shaken by the calamitous debate last Thursday, during which the 81-year-old Democrat lost ground to his Republican rival Donald Trump.
“The debate has done too much damage”
“I think it is legitimate to ask whether this is just an episode or a state.” sustainable, Nancy Pelosi, former Democratic Speaker of the House of Representatives, said on MSNBC. “The truth is that Biden is going to lose to Trump. I know it’s hard, but I think the debate has done too much damage.”also said Washington State Democratic Representative Marie Gluesenkamp Perez.
This Wednesday, July 3, Joe Biden is scheduled to meet with the country’s Democratic governors, according to the official White House agenda. “We will have a healthy discussion with the president”explained one of them, JB Pritzker of Illinois, this Tuesday evening on CNN.
“At this point, Joe Biden is our candidate, I am 100% behind his candidacy, unless he makes another decision, in which case we will all discuss the best way forward,” added the governor.
“Bounce”
To explain Joe Biden’s disastrous debate against Trump, Biden judged that it was not “not very smart” having “traveled around the world many times” shortly before this confrontation, and that this had led him to “almost fell asleep on stage”by adding: “This is not an excuse but an explanation.”
The American president visited France from June 5 to 9, then Italy from June 12 to 14, followed by a campaign trip to California. He then took six days to prepare for the June 27 debate at the Camp David residence, a period during which he had no public activity.
Until now, the argument of his supporters was to say that Joe Biden had had a “bad evening”therefore temporary, and to emphasize that he suffered from a “common cold” hampering his speech, which was repeated again on Tuesday by his spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre. The president “knows how to bounce back”she assured, ruling out the possibility that the Democratic leader, deemed fit to govern by his doctor in February, would take a cognitive test.
The American president will grant an interview on Friday ABC News and the White House is promising a solo press conference next week, both events meant to prove that Joe Biden can speak fluently without a teleprompter.
Survey
According to a survey published Tuesday by CNN75% of voters surveyed believe that the Democratic Party would have a better chance in November with a candidate other than him. Donald Trump is credited with 49% of voting intentions at the national level, against 43% for his rival, a gap unchanged from the last poll of this type, conducted in April.
Vice President Kamala Harris, without winning, would be better placed, at 45% against 47% for the former Republican president, aged 78. Le New York Times reports Tuesday that people close to the president have noted absences “more frequent” et “more pronounced” these last months.
Questions about the mental acuity of the oldest president in U.S. history are “legitimate”insisted Karine Jean-Pierre on Tuesday, failing to respond directly. The spokesperson assured that the American executive was not hiding “absolutely not” information on the president’s form.
Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, who will replace him?
In the Washington PostMichelle Obama is seen as one of the Democrats’ options to eventually replace Joe Biden. Barack Obama’s wife and First Lady from 2009 to 2017 enjoys very good popularity ratings, even since leaving the White House. At 60, she is also very involved in the campaign, strongly supporting the American president. However, the former lawyer has not communicated on this subject and therefore suggests that her arrival on the political scene is unlikely.
On the other hand, if Biden drops out, Hillary Clinton could make a comeback. A multiple presidential candidate, she was nominated by the Democrats in 2016, but lost to Donald Trump. Replacing Joe Biden would be an opportunity for the woman who began her political career after serving as First Lady from 1995 to 2001, during the presidency of her husband, Bill Clinton, to take her revenge, at the age of 76.
