(Las Vegas) After testing positive for COVID-19, US President Joe Biden assured Wednesday that he was “fine,” but this new announcement risks fueling concerns about his age and health that have already prompted calls for him to withdraw from the race for the White House.
Democratic heavyweights have tried in recent days to convince the president to pass the torch, in the face of unfavourable polls, several American media outlets reported on Wednesday.
The announcement of his COVID-19 infection comes at a time when Joe Biden is playing for his political survival since his disastrous performance in late June during his debate with Donald Trump, which sparked a wave of questions about his physical and mental abilities.
The White House has insisted the president is “fully vaccinated” and will “continue to fully perform his duties” while in quarantine as he campaigns to woo Hispanic voters in Nevada.
Asked by BET on Tuesday what might make him consider throwing in the towel, the 81-year-old presidential candidate replied: “If I had a medical problem that came up, if someone, doctors came to me and said: ‘you have this problem’.”
This is the first time Mr Biden has opened the door to the idea of abandoning his campaign.
“Pure speculation”
About twenty elected members of the House and one senator had so far urged Joe Biden to throw in the towel.
Calls for the president to step down, muted after the assassination attempt on Donald Trump on Saturday, have resumed with heavyweights, according to media reports.
According to CNN reporters, influential former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi recently told Joe Biden that he could “destroy the Democrats’ chances of winning” the legislative elections, citing unfavorable polls.
The Democratic leader’s team responded to the network that she had been in California since Friday and had not spoken to Joe Biden since.
According to ABC News, powerful Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has “forcefully argued that it would be better for Biden, for the Democratic Party and for the country if he stepped down.”
PHOTO CLIFF OWEN, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer
The Democratic leader’s team did not really deny it, simply stressing that “unless ABC’s source is Senator Chuck Schumer or President Joe Biden,” this information was “pure speculation.”
The New York Times and the Washington Post have reported on interviews between Joe Biden and Chuck Schumer, but also with the leader of his party’s elected representatives in the House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries, during which the two elected representatives reportedly expressed “concerns within their ranks about the possibility that Biden would deprive them of a majority.”
White House spokesman Andrew Bates responded to AFP, saying the president had “told both officials that he was the Democratic Party’s nominee” and that he “planned to win, looking forward to working” with them. CNN gave the same response.
“Passing the torch”
Earlier Wednesday, another Democratic Party heavyweight revived calls for him to withdraw from the White House race.
California Rep. Adam Schiff urged Biden to “pass the torch,” saying he doubted the president could beat Donald Trump in November.
PHOTO J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE, ARCHIVES ASSOCIATED PRESS
Adam Schiff, a Democrat from California, elected to the United States House of Representatives
In this context of tensions, Democratic Party officials announced on Wednesday their desire to accelerate the process of nominating Mr. Biden with an early voting system, the details of which remain to be defined.
The system would allow voting to take place during the first week of August rather than waiting until the Democratic convention, which begins in Chicago on August 19, when the candidate must be officially nominated for the November 5 presidential election against Donald Trump.
Some Democrats have sharply criticized the plan, saying it is a way to force through Biden’s candidacy despite doubts about his suitability and without discussing possible alternatives.
Vice President Kamala Harris is considered the favorite if Mr Biden withdraws, saying Democratic voters support him.
PHOTO CARLOS OSORIO, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Vice President Kamala Harris is considered the favorite if Mr Biden steps down.
But according to a recent poll, nearly two-thirds of them want the president to throw in the towel.