2024-07-06 02:42:05
Despite speculation and doubts about his mental and physical condition, American President Joe Biden does not intend to withdraw from the election race for the White House. He told supporters at a campaign rally in Wisconsin on Friday. He said he was not going to let the televised debate, in which he faced off against Republican Donald Trump and gave an unconvincing performance, undo years of work.
“I finally defeated Medicare.” Biden staged a mental breakdown before Trump. | Video: Reuters
“What will Joe do? Will he stay in the campaign? Will he back out? What will he do?,” Biden asked rhetorically, continuing: “Here’s my answer – I’ll keep running and I’ll win again.” His words were followed by thunderous applause from the crowd.
Biden’s performance in the pre-election debate was called “disastrous” by some media outlets, and The Washington Post, in comments, begged Biden’s wife, Jill, to tell her husband it was time to step aside. Doubts about the abilities of the man, who would be 86 at the end of his term, have also prompted some senior Democrats to call on Biden to step down.
According to The Washington Post, Virginia Democratic Senator Mark Warner is putting together a group of his colleagues who would ask Biden to make room in the election for another Democrat. Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey, on the other hand, issued a statement on Friday, according to Reuters, asking Biden to “carefully consider” his decision.
“President Biden saved our democracy in 2020 and has done a stellar job over the past four years. I urge him to listen to the American people in the coming days and carefully consider whether he remains our best hope to defeat Donald Trump,” the governor said in a statement.
Representatives of business and civil society also spoke. 168 of them said in a letter to the White House that the president should cement his legacy by stepping down and allowing someone else to run at a time of “threats posed by a possible second term of Donald Trump.”
Reuters reported on Friday, without further details, that Biden had a brief consultation with his chief physician in recent days.