2024-07-12 22:08:07
Democrats, Washington, the United States and the whole world arrived Wednesday at a long-awaited press conference by the president and re-election candidate Joe Biden with their lives in suspense. After this appearance, yesterday they continued the same, without clear or certain answers on what will be the future of this candidate who is facing that of Donald Trump. Biden continued. The resistance that repeats.
The physical and mental capabilities of the President of the United States at the age of 81 have been at the center of a seismic political debate since his disastrous debate against Trump. That’s why the news conference was like a litmus test and he passed it.
Despite some notable slips, notably saying “Vice President Trump” when he wanted to talk about Kamala Harris (two hours after introducing Zelenskiy as “President Putin”), he was even more comfortable talking about the NATO summit that just finished, foreign policy. , a review of his legislative achievements or an attack on Trump. And he emphasized again and again, with firmness and different arguments, that he does not plan to withdraw from the race for the presidential elections in November. “I am the most qualified person to compete for the presidency – he said – I won it [Trump] once and I will do it again. “
We can say that, after that hour of answering 17 questions from 11 journalists, he understood. Those who supported him found arguments to defend his decision to continue. Others seemed unconvinced that this work was enough. Congressman Brad Schneider, one of those who asked him to testify, explained this on CNN: “We cannot have a situation where we hold our breath every day, whether in a press conference, a debate or a conference.”
Biden ignored the critics of his progress like Schneider and yesterday he returned to the campaign, with an event in Detroit (Michigan), in the same institution where he promised to be a bridge candidate to new generations, one of the topics- speech for which the journalists asked him.
On Monday, he will participate in an event commemorating the civil rights act in Austin, Texas, at the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library (the president announced in March 1968 that he would not be the Democratic nominee). There he will record an interview with NBC, which will be broadcast on Monday. And in the following days he will have election events in Nevada with two major groups of blacks and Hispanics.
Press to stop
Biden also decided to test the viability of his candidacy but this is far from meaning that he has managed to calm the crisis. There were widespread doubts about his continuity, intense scrutiny and great pressure for him to step down. Since the debate, there has been a frenzy of MPs from his training who have urged him to leave. At least one did so directly yesterday in a call Biden had with a group of Hispanic congressmen.
The fear is not only that Biden will lose the White House, but that he will also drag down members of Congress facing the vote again. Fears that his presence on the ballot will favor Republicans not only in already complicated districts, but also in places that are traditionally Democratic strongholds. And the leader of the minority in the House, Hakeem Jeffries, announced yesterday in a letter that he had after a press conference with Biden in which he explained to him the concerns and considerations of the party. He didn’t ask you to quit. He also did not support him to continue.
Some donors, meanwhile, are still urging him to withdraw. According to The New York Times, some of them have told the first Political Action Supercommittee that supports Biden that they will freeze the contribution of almost 90 million dollars that they have promised if the President comes as a candidate. Others say they won’t give more money as long as you’re driving the ticket.
Another source of confusion for Biden and his campaign came yesterday from the Sunrise Movement, a youth organization that fights climate change and is important for Democrats to organize and mobilize young voters (already alienated from Biden through the war in Gaza). In a statement the parties asked him to “pass the torch”.
In the press conference in the evening it became clear that Biden also bowed down to write that the concerns about his powers that he showed not only members of his party, advisers or donors but also, as the polls say, a large number of voters You only agree that “it is important to calm the fears”, bet on doing so with a great public opinion, election or media events with which you want to show your power.
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Harris’s choice
Vice President Harris, who the coalition sees as a natural replacement for Biden if he leaves, also participated in the press conference. And the Democrats made a fiery defense of his No. 2, saying, “I wouldn’t have picked him if I didn’t think he was qualified to be president,” but also brushed off the options that were passed. It’s a sign if the polls show you have a better chance of beating Trump than you did.
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