Privately, the US president’s family is discussing potential avenues for him to step aside, according to media reports
At least 13 more Democrats in Congress have joined the voices calling on President Joe Biden to step aside as the party’s nominee in the 2024 presidential election, bringing the total in Congress to at least 35 as of Friday, according to NBC News.
The beleaguered 81-year-old president, who is currently isolating himself in his Delaware home with Covid-19, has insisted that he will be back on the campaign trail next week.
Influential Democrats such as former US President Barack Obama, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have all reportedly shared concerns over Biden’s chances of reelection, following his disastrous performance in the June debate against Republican frontrunner Donald Trump.
On Friday, Senator Sherrod Brown and a number of House Democrats joined the growing chorus of Capitol Hill lawmakers and party donors urging their presumptive nominee to step down in light of his dwindling chances of winning, according to NBC.
Nearly two-thirds of Democrats nationwide want Biden to withdraw from the race and let another candidate run, an AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll published on Wednesday says.
Members of the Biden family have begun discussions on what his exit from the presidential race might look like should he choose to step down, “as some of his closest allies increasingly believe he will,” NBC reported on Friday, citing two sources familiar with the matter. However, White House spokesman Andrew Bates denied any exit discussions were taking place, saying, “this is not happening, period,” telling supporters to “keep the faith.”
Biden has promised to return to the campaign trail next week, in a statement his campaign made on Friday. After his rival’s speech at the Republican National Convention, when Trump accepted his party’s nomination, Biden slammed it as a “dark vision for the future.”
“Together, as a party and as a country, we can and will defeat him at the ballot box,” Biden said, adding that “the stakes are high, and the choice is clear. Together, we will win.”
Trump made his first public address on Thursday after a brush with death during an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania, last weekend. He promised “an incredible victory” in November, followed by “the four greatest years in the history of our country,” vowing to “very quickly make America great again.”
Earlier in July, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow will work with any US president who is chosen by the American people.
