NEW YORK, Jul 07 (APP): US President Joe Biden’s Friday night TV interview does not seem to have quelled the demands within the Democratic Party to withdraw his candidature after last week’s halting debate performance against Donald Trump, his Republican rival in the November presidential election.
Some Biden allies came to the president’s defence, applauding his performance in his sit-down with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos. But after the interviewed aired, Congressperson Angie Craig, a Democrat, became the fifth House Democrat asking Biden to step aside in a statement Saturday.
She joined a growing number of people within his party asking he reevaluate his campaign, including Texas Congresspersons Lloyd Doggett, Arizona Congress person Rauul Grijalva, and Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey. Discussions about the future of Biden’s candidacy are expected over the next days and weeks.
Democratic Senator Mark Warner is organizing a group of Democratic senators to ask Biden to drop out, according to media reports.
“Given what I saw and heard from the President during last week’s debate in Atlanta, coupled with the lack of forceful response from the President himself following the debate, I do not believe that the President can effectively campaign and win against Donald Trump,” Craig said. “This future of our country is bigger than any one of us. It’s up to the President from here.”
One of Biden’s most ardent supporters, Congressperson Jim Clyburn, also a Democrat, said the threat former President Donald Trump poses is why the party should rally behind the president right now.
“He clearly laid out the truth tonight — under Trump, all of our progress will be stymied and our democracy would be at risk,” Clyburn said in a social media post Friday evening. “Joe Biden is who our country needs and his presidency has laid a foundation upon which we can continue our pursuit of a more perfect union.”
Democratic Congressperson Judy Chu told Politico, an online news service, after the interview aired that she found the president’s answer about whether he would agree to take a cognitive test unnerving. Biden said he didn’t need one and serving as president while running for reelection is its own sort of cognitive test.
“I found the answer about taking a cognitive test every day to be unsettling and not particularly convincing, so I will be watching closely every day to see how he is doing, especially in spontaneous situations,” Chu said.
David Axelrod, a former senior adviser to former President Barack Obama, was one of the first Democrats to say there would be discussion about Biden’s future in the race following his performance in the first presidential debate. After Biden dismissed his low poll numbers in the interview with Stephanopoulos, Axelrod took to X, formerly Twitter, to respond.
“The president is rightfully proud of his record. But he is dangerously out-of-touch with the concerns people have about his capacities moving forward and his standing in this race,” Axelrod said. “Four years ago at this time, he was 10 points ahead of Trump. Today, he is six points behind.”
Political consultant Bill Burton, who served as a deputy press secretary in President Barak Obama, penned a CNN opinion column published Saturday arguing Vice President Kamala Harris is the “only viable alternative” for Democrats so late in the race. Ms. Harris is the first woman, first Black person and first person of Asian descent to be elected vice president.
“If you think our ticket has problems in the Black community right now, imagine pushing our nation’s first Black woman vice president aside for the fantasy of riding a blank slate to victory,” Burton said.
Democratic Senator Chris Coons, representing Biden’s home state, is sticking with the president. He shared a clip from the interview and praised Biden, saying he has made “remarkable progress” and would deliver more in his next term.
“I can’t wait to help him continue to take the fight to Trump and win in November,” Coons said.
Meanwhile, Biden, 81, is spending Saturday at his family home in Delaware before two public events on Sunday.
During the 22-minute primetime interview, Biden rejected suggestions allies may ask him to stand aside, saying “it’s not going to happen”.
Anchor Stephanopoulos pressed the president on his capacity to serve another term.
“I don’t think anybody’s more qualified to be president or win this race than me,” Biden said.
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