MIAMI– President Joe Biden, 81, is risking his political survival with every public appearance, but it seems that nothing can save him as more and more voices within the Democratic Party and outside it are calling for him to withdraw from the presidential re-election bid.
The president has just introduced the Ukrainian president as Vladimir Putin in front of journalists from around the world, during a press conference following the closing of a NATO meeting in Washington.
Whatever he does, Biden has come under heavy fire from the big left-wing media outlets and legislators from his own party who until yesterday defended him without any reservations or buts, despite the fact that his mental condition dates back to 2020. Chaos has also taken hold within the blue camp less than four months before the presidential elections.
Chaos less than four months before the elections
Biden has struggled with a stutter since he was a child. He has never been a born speaker, much less a brilliant one; improvisation is not his strong point, but on Thursday he will have to convince people that he is capable of taking on Trump at the polls.
The Republican campaign team predicts failure.
“If he comes in, looks at a story and looks for a reporter with a predetermined question,” it would be “staged,” said Jason Miller, a close adviser to Trump, on Newsmax.
With just weeks to go before the Democratic nominating convention, scheduled for August 19-22 in Chicago, many within the party doubt that the 81-year-old president will be able to remain in the race for re-election.
“Neither tonight’s press conference nor the interview scheduled for Monday (on NBC) will offer Biden the political salvation he seeks,” Congressman Ritchie Torres said in a statement.
According to the New York Times, Joe Biden’s campaign team and his running mate, Kamala Harris, have quietly sounded out the chances that this woman could defeat Donald Trump.
She has been loyal to him so far. “We knew this election would be tough (…) But if there’s one thing we know about our President Joe Biden, it’s that he’s a fighter!” she said Thursday during a rally in North Carolina.
Kamala Harris has not been included among the possible candidates to replace Biden. She does not seem to have mental lapses, but rather a lack of culture and preparation for the position she occupies. Her public nonsense is famous on social media and in political circles in Washington, but with the desperation of the Democrats, Harris now shines as a “political star”, with very little chance against Trump. Biden’s weight increases by tons every day and is almost unsustainable for the left.
The reality is that the left’s leadership crisis is taking its toll and none of the options they have has any real chance of beating Trump. Just because Biden supposedly succeeded, doesn’t mean he will do it again, when the conditions have become quite complex and negative for the left and the far left.
Not only Obama and Michelle have come out into the public arena, but even the late or non-existent socialist Bernie Sanders. And when Sanders and Obama come out of their “shelters” it is because the situation is extremely critical.
From the other side of the country, Nancy Pelosi, former Speaker of the House of Representatives, called on Biden to take a hard look at his situation and make a quick decision. Pelosi apparently did not believe Biden’s repeated refusals to give up re-election. “I’m not going anywhere,” the White House occupant said. It couldn’t be clearer.
Since becoming president, the Democrat has given 36 press conferences, according to researcher Martha Joynt Kumar, quoted by the Axios platform. Among his six predecessors, only Republican Ronald Reagan gave fewer.
Mistakes that have added up to Biden’s possible “political burial”
And in recent months, the “gaffes” have been resounding, as in February, when he mentioned former French president François Mitterrand, who died in 1996, instead of Emmanuel Macron, and the also deceased Helmut Kohl instead of former German chancellor Angela Merkel.
The pressure from his Democratic Party is growing more intense by the day, and even meetings with senators and representatives have not calmed the crisis. Even one of his biggest donors, the movie star George Clooney, has asked Biden to pass the baton.
An Ipsos poll released Thursday by The Washington Post and ABC found that 67 percent of respondents believe Biden should withdraw his candidacy. Among Democratic voters, that figure is 56 percent.
A dozen Democratic House members and one senator have openly called on Biden to drop out of the race for the White House.
Many fear that Biden will drag them down in the midterm elections that are taking place at the same time as the presidential ones.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Thursday he is having “frank, thoughtful and deep conversations” with members of his caucus. He did not elaborate.
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Source: With information from AFP.