(Washington) US President Joe Biden returns to the campaign trail on Sunday determined not to give up despite growing pressure from Democratic lawmakers to throw in the towel, before beginning a grueling week hosting a NATO summit in Washington.
The 81-year-old Democrat, who has not completely dispelled doubts about his ability to govern the country for a second term after a television interview on Friday, is due to take part in two campaign rallies in Philadelphia and Harrisburg in the state of Pennsylvania, a key state in the race for the White House.
He generally appears more combative in this type of event, like last Friday in Wisconsin where he assured that he would stay in the race at all costs, supported it is true by a teleprompter.
The Biden campaign had to put out another fire Saturday after it emerged that the White House provided Biden with the questions he asked during two separate radio interviews with black radio stations last Friday.
First Lady Jill Biden, who according to the American press is urging her presidential husband to stay in the race, is due to campaign on Monday in Georgia, Florida and North Carolina, according to a statement from her office.
But the pressure from elected Democrats is increasing.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called a virtual crisis meeting of top Democrats on Sunday to discuss how best to proceed as Congress returns to session in the coming days.
Democratic Senator Mark Warner is reportedly trying to organize a similar forum in the upper chamber.
Four Democratic congressmen have already unequivocally called on Joe Biden to give up running in November.
PHOTO MARIAM ZUHAIB, ASSOCIATED PRESS
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries
A fifth congresswoman, Angie Craig, joined them Saturday, saying in a statement that “in the absence of a forceful response from the president himself following this debate, (she) does not believe the president can run an effective campaign and win against Donald Trump.”
To reassure
In what was billed as a pivotal television interview, Joe Biden said Friday that no one else was “more qualified” to beat Donald Trump in November, appearing to deny the reality of the polls that place him in clear difficulty against his Republican opponent.
During that exchange on ABC with journalist George Stephanopoulos, he also repeatedly dodged the question of whether his physical and mental condition had deteriorated during his term.
However, it is his cognitive abilities that have been the subject of heated discussions since his catastrophic debate with Donald Trump on Thursday, June 27.
“I take a cognitive test every day,” he said. “Not only am I campaigning, I’m also running the world,” he added, after explaining his underperformance in the debate by “exhaustion.”
The Democratic candidate has a lot to do to erase the disastrous impression left by his debate against Donald Trump, whose immediate consequences he has not at all managed: a wave of calls for his withdrawal in the press and a surge of concerns about his mental health within his party.
He has at least one supporter: Donald Trump, who sarcastically advised him on his Truth Social network Saturday to “ignore his many detractors and move forward.” The Republican candidate, who has been unusually quiet in recent days, is relishing the divisions among Democrats.
Joe Biden’s campaign team is determined, despite everything, to act as if nothing has happened while President Biden vows that he will not give up unless the “Lord” should ask him to.
She unveiled an intense battle plan for July, including a flurry of television spots and trips to all key states, including the southwest during the Republican convention (July 15-18).
It’s going to be a tough week for Joe Biden, who is due to take part in an intense international sequence by hosting a summit of NATO leaders from Tuesday to Thursday.
Here too, he will have to work to reassure his allies, while many European countries fear a victory for Donald Trump in November, as he maintains uncertainty over American support for the Western military alliance.