US President Joe Biden returns to the campaign trail on Sunday, determined not to give up despite growing pressure from Democratic lawmakers to throw in the towel, before beginning a grueling week hosting a NATO summit in Washington.
• Read also: Another crucial day for Biden’s political survival
• Read also: “I’m running and I’m going to win again,” Biden assures
The 81-year-old Democrat, who has not completely dispelled doubts about his ability to govern the country for a second term after a television interview on Friday, is due to take part in two campaign rallies in Philadelphia and Harrisburg in the state of Pennsylvania, a key state in the race for the White House.
He generally appears more combative in this type of event, like last Friday in Wisconsin where he assured that he wanted to stay in the race at all costs, supported it is true by a teleprompter.
Joe Biden’s campaign had to put out another fire on Saturday, after it was revealed that the White House provided Biden with the questions he asked during two separate radio interviews with black radio stations last Friday.
First Lady Jill Biden, who, according to the American press, is encouraging her presidential husband to stay in the race, is due to campaign on Monday in Georgia, Florida and North Carolina, according to a statement from her office.
AFP
But the pressure from elected Democrats is increasing.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called a virtual crisis meeting of top Democrats on Sunday to discuss how best to proceed as Congress returns to session in the coming days.
Democratic Senator Mark Warner, for his part, is reportedly trying to organize a similar forum in the upper chamber.
Four Democratic congressmen have already unequivocally called on Joe Biden to give up running in November.
A fifth congresswoman, Angie Craig, joined them Saturday, saying in a statement that “in the absence of a forceful response from the president himself following this debate, (she) does not believe the president can run an effective campaign and win against Donald Trump.”
To reassure
In what was billed as a pivotal television interview, Joe Biden said Friday that no one else was “more qualified” to beat Donald Trump in November, appearing to deny the reality of the polls that place him in clear difficulty against his Republican opponent.
During that exchange with ABC reporter George Stephanopoulos, he also repeatedly dodged questions about whether his physical and mental health had deteriorated during his tenure.
Screenshot TVA News / ABC
However, it is his cognitive abilities that have been the subject of very lively discussions since his catastrophic debate against Donald Trump (on Thursday, June 27).
“I take a cognitive test every day,” he said. “Not only am I campaigning, I’m also running the world,” he added, after explaining his underperformance in the debate by his “exhaustion.”
The Democratic candidate has a lot to do to erase the disastrous impression left by his debate against Donald Trump, whose immediate consequences he has not at all managed: a wave of calls for his withdrawal in the press and, within his party, a surge of concerns about his mental health.
He has at least one supporter: Donald Trump, who sarcastically advised him on his Truth Social network Saturday to “ignore his many detractors and move forward.” The Republican candidate, who has been unusually quiet in recent days, is relishing the divisions among Democrats.
Joe Biden’s campaign team is determined, despite everything, to act as if nothing has happened while President Biden vows that he will not give up unless the “Lord” should ask him to.
She unveiled an intense battle plan for July that includes a barrage of television ads and trips to key states, including the southwest during the Republican National Convention (July 15-18).
It’s going to be a tough week for Joe Biden, who is due to take part in an intense international sequence by hosting a summit of NATO leaders from Tuesday to Thursday.
Here too, he will have to work to reassure his allies, while many European countries fear a victory for Donald Trump in November, as he maintains uncertainty over American support for the Western military alliance.
