US President Joe Biden has doubled down on his pledge to stay in the Presidential race, despite the growing Democratic party revolt that raised speculation he could bow out this weekend.
Biden in a statement from the Delaware beach home where he is in Covid isolation, said that, “The stakes are high, and the choice is clear. Together, we will win”.
“I look forward to getting back on the campaign trail next week,” Biden added, as his doctor said the president was bouncing back from the symptoms of the disease.
But the 81-year old Biden’s political health appeared to be in far worse shape, with nine more House Democrats and one senator joining the list of lawmakers publicly calling on him to quit November’s election clash with Donald Trump.
A disastrous debate performance against Trump three weeks ago triggered panic about Biden’s age and health. More than 30 House Democrats and three senators have now called on him to drop out.
With reports that top Democrats have also expressed concerns, polls showing the Republican on course for a return to the Oval Office, and fundraising drying up, the walls appeared to be closing in.
NBC News reported that some of Biden’s family had “discussed what an exit from his campaign might look like” although there was no final decision to do so.
Vice President Kamala Harris, the frontrunner to succeed him as the Democratic presidential candidate if Biden does drop out, was holding an emergency call with donors on Friday.
Biden’s campaign however also pushed back against reports that he would bow out, saying that while there had been some “slippage” in support, he was still the best candidate.
“Absolutely the president’s in this race,” campaign chairwoman Jen O’Malley Dillon told MSNBC’s Morning Joe program. “Joe Biden is more committed than ever to beat Donald Trump.”
Biden had on Thursday blasted his rival’s speech at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, stating that “Donald Trump’s dark vision for the future is not who we are as Americans.”
AFP
