U.S. President Joe Biden is meeting Democratic governors virtually and in person at the White House on Wednesday, July 4th, in a bid to bolster his support after a disastrous debate with rival Donald Trump that left many Democratic politicians questioning his mental state and whether he is fit to run the country for another four years.
According to American media reports, an increasing number of Democrats would like to see Joe Biden drop out of the U.S. presidential race after his debate with Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump, which took place on June 27th. On the night, 81-year-old Biden spoke incoherently and displayed signs of frailness and mental decline. Talk of the president’s deteriorating psychological state has been ongoing for many months, with videos circulating showing him confused and lost, and an official report describing him as a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”
Joe Biden blamed exhaustion caused by too much travel as the reason for his bad performance. He acknowledged on Tuesday that he “fell asleep on the stage.” He said:
I wasn’t very smart. I decided to travel around the world a couple times, I don’t know how many time zones. It’s not an excuse but an explanation.
He referred to his decision to travel to France for several days two weeks before the debate and return to the United States before heading back to Europe for the G7 summit in Italy. In contrast to the president, the White House blamed Biden’s having a cold for his poor debate showing.
Not everyone is convinced by these explanations. Congressman Lloyd Doggett of Texas is the first Democratic lawmaker who has publicly called for Joe Biden to step down as the party’s nominee for president. He said his “decision to make these strong reservations public is not done lightly,” but “I am hopeful that he will make the painful and difficult decision to withdraw.” Another Democrat, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, said the president and his team have to be “candid with us about his condition.” Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said it was legitimate to ask whether his debate performance was a one-night thing or a sign of a broader health problem.
According to reports, 25 Democratic members of the House of Representatives are preparing to call for Biden to step aside if he seems shaky in the coming days.
The New York Times quotes several current and former officials who encountered Biden behind closed doors, and noticed that he “increasingly appeared confused or listless, or would lose the thread of conversations.” The paper writes Biden was so tired after his European trips that he had to rest for two days before starting his debate preparation. The preparations, which took place over six days, never started before 11 a.m. and “Biden was given time for an afternoon nap each day.”
According to surveys, Trump was the victor of the election debate, and many Democratic voters want Biden to drop out of the race. A poll by USA Today suggests that 41% of Democrats want the president replaced as the party’s nominee. According to a survey by CNN, three-quarters of all U.S. voters say the Democratic Party would have a better shot at keeping the presidency with someone other than Biden. Both polls show that Trump has a 3-6-point lead over Biden. However, were Vice President Kamala Harris, California Governor Gavin Newsom, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, or Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer to replace Biden—names that have been thrown around as possible contenders—all of them would lose to Trump.
As we recently reported, the Democratic Party would face a myriad of political and legal hurdles if it were to attempt a last-minute change before the election in November.
However, Vice President Kamala Harris is insistent that nothing will change. “Joe Biden is our nominee,” she said in an interview, adding she is “proud to be Joe Biden’s running mate.”
