No leading Democrat wants to publicly turn away from US President Biden. But behind the scenes, things are simmering in the party. The White House is presenting the 81-year-old as a “fighter”.
Despite US President Joe Biden’s persistence in the debate about his presidential candidacy, the unrest in his party continues. At meetings in the US Congress on Tuesday (local time), Democratic Party parliamentarians debated the 81-year-old’s political future. Although the party leaders continued to publicly support Biden, calls for him to withdraw from the presidential race have not died down.
Further doubts in the party about Biden
US broadcaster CNN reported, citing unnamed sources, that three senators said at a party dinner that Biden could not win against his Republican challenger Donald Trump in the presidential election in November. Biden’s confidant, Senator Chris Coons, defended the US president again. But he also said the debate was not over yet. Democratic MP Mikie Sherrill called on Biden to withdraw so that an alternative could be found. About half a dozen MPs had previously made similar public statements.
Biden’s vice president, Kamala Harris, who is being considered as a possible successor, stressed at a campaign event in Las Vegas that running for president is never easy. But Biden is a “fighter”. Biden’s spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre put it similarly. Biden has shown time and again in the past that his critics are wrong. “He will keep fighting. That is the essence of Joe Biden’s story,” she said. She emphasized that if Biden is re-elected, he is committed to a full second term. At the end of that term, he would be 86 years old.
Biden’s mental fitness is a constant topic
US media reported that a member of the US Navy was disciplined for unsuccessfully attempting to gain unauthorized access to Biden’s medical records. “At no time was the President’s personal information compromised,” the US Navy reportedly said. The incident is said to have occurred in February.
In the USA, there is a debate about whether Biden is the right Democratic presidential candidate for the November election because of his advanced age. Since his TV debacle against Trump, Biden has increasingly had to face questions about his mental fitness – but the question of whether Biden would be mentally capable of fully fulfilling his office if re-elected has been an issue for some time.
Biden rejects any doubts and refuses to take a cognitive test. The Democrat questions polls that suggest Biden has lost support since the debate. The US president is currently trying to score points as host and leader of the defense alliance at the NATO summit in the US capital Washington.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
