Joe Biden sought to reassure American voters on Sunday as several senior Democratic lawmakers joined calls for him to drop his bid for a second term in the White House.
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The 81-year-old American president is still suffering the fallout from his disastrous debate with Donald Trump on June 27.
He faces growing opposition from Democratic lawmakers who now doubt his ability to beat his Republican opponent in November.
Several of them, including influential New York congressman Jerrold Nadler, believe it is time for him to throw in the towel, a message they conveyed during a (virtual) crisis meeting of the Democratic leadership in the House of Representatives, several American media outlets reported on Sunday afternoon.
In a strange twist of fate, Joe Biden assured at about the same time that he had, on the contrary, the support of the Democrats.
“Yes!” he shouted to the press journalists who accompany the American president on all his trips when they asked him if he still enjoyed this support.
Photo AFP
But the front is clearly cracking.
“There’s only one reason the race between Trump and Biden is close, and that’s the age of the president,” Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff said on NBC, also praising the qualities of Vice President Kamala Harris, a potential backup.
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All the polls show real concern about this among the Democratic electorate, because Joe Biden, if elected, would be 86 years old at the end of his second term.
Photo GETTY IMAGES / AFP
US media reported on Sunday that attempts by Senator Mark Warner to bring together his Democratic colleagues to deal with the crisis internally have failed, and that lawmakers are instead expected to meet on Tuesday for their regular session.
“I think the president needs to do more,” particularly during meetings without a teleprompter, said Democratic Senator Chris Murphy.
“Time is running out. This week is going to be really important and vital for the country and for the president,” the presidential insider told CNN.
Black Church
That’s what Mr. Biden tried to do on Sunday, at several campaign stops in the key swing state of Pennsylvania.
Photo AFP
The Democrat first sought solace from a supportive black congregation in Philadelphia.
A devout Catholic himself, he attended the Mt Airy Pentecostal Church, where he could be seen humming and tapping his knee to gospel music.
Photo GETTY IMAGES / AFP
He made only a veiled reference to the crisis that is shaking his candidacy, joking again about his age. “Each of us is imperfect,” he said.
But “we have to unite America again. That’s my goal. That’s what we’re going to do,” he said to cries of “Four more years!”
He then went to union leaders and supporters in Harrisburg, rattling off his campaign themes and calling himself the “most pro-union president in history.”
NATO Summit
For Joe Biden, the equation is simple, at the risk of appearing in denial. He believes that no one else is “more qualified” to beat Donald Trump, even if the polls place him in clear difficulty against his Republican opponent.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump, who has been unusually quiet in recent days, is revelling in the divisions among Democrats on his Truth Social network.
Joe Biden’s campaign team is determined, despite everything, to move forward as 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 all key states starting in mid-July, around the time of the Republican 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, because many European countries fear a victory for Donald Trump in November, as he maintains uncertainty over American support for the Western military alliance.
