Biden is under pressure
As he resumed his campaign trail appearance on Friday, Joe Biden refuted rumors once more that he will withdraw from the US presidential contest and attempted to draw attention to challenger Donald Trump.
However, the chorus of Democrats calling on the 81-year-old Biden to resign after a dismal debate performance against Trump became louder as he spoke at a boisterous rally in the crucial state of Michigan.
“Speculation has been rampant lately. What course of action will Joe Biden take? Will he continue to run or withdraw? Protesters in Detroit chanted, “Don’t you quit!” while Biden spoke. “This is my response: I’m running, and we’re going to triumph! “I won’t alter that,” stated Biden.
Though Biden came out swinging during a high-stakes press conference during a NATO meeting in Washington on Thursday, the opposition persisted.
Concerns about his health and mental capacity following the disastrous June 27 debate have led to calls from 19 Democratic senators for him to withdraw from the race.
In his first solo press appearance in eight months, he declared himself to be the “most qualified” candidate for the presidency. In the US, 24.2 million people watched it, which is about half of the total number who saw the debate.
His suitability for the position was called into question after a string of embarrassing remarks made during the summit, such as calling Vice President Kamala Harris “Vice President Trump” and confusing Russian strongman Vladimir Putin with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Biden attempted to downplay the errors during the rally in Detroit.
Reporters in Detroit were jeered after Biden addressed them, claiming that they were “hammering me because I sometimes confuse names,” in scenes more like to his rival’s rallies, where the media is frequently mistreated.
After that, Biden asked the media to concentrate on Trump’s “lies” and “Project 2025,” a conservative hard-line vision for power that Democrats have said the former president would carry out.
The 78-year-old Trump denies he is involved with the program
In response to applause, Biden stated, “Americans want a president, not a dictator.” Taking aim at Trump’s declaration that he would establish dictatorship only on the first day of his presidency, Biden declared he would allow it to occur “over my dead body.” Speaking to supporters at a café earlier, Biden added, “I promise you I am OK.”
Biden, who attributed his unimpressive debate performance on illness and jet lag, will continue his rigorous travel schedule in the coming days in an effort to ease worries about his endurance and mental acuity.
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One as they traveled to Michigan with the president, Biden campaign communications director Michael Tyler said,
“The president understands that there’s still some anxiety.” “For this reason, he is totally committed to proving that he is the most qualified opponent of Donald Trump,” he stated.
“Joe Biden has been making gaffes for 40 years, he made a couple of last night, and he probably will continue to do so,” Tyler said, downplaying the verbal blunders.
Hakeem Jeffries, the leading Democrat in the House of Representatives, announced that he had a meeting with Biden late on Thursday following the news conference.”
No other information was provided by Jeffries, other than to say that he “expressed the full breadth of insight, heartfelt perspectives and conclusions about the path forward.”
Biden will visit Texas and Nevada the following week in an effort to reconnect with his crucial Black and Latino supporters. On Monday, he will speak with broadcaster NBC in his second significant network interview in as many weeks.
Democratic donors are being impacted by the worries surrounding Biden; on Wednesday, prominent backer and movie star George Clooney called for Biden to resign.
According to a New York Times story published on Friday, several additional significant contributors have informed the biggest Biden campaign fund that they will withhold their roughly $90 million in promised contributions if he continues to run.
