Roving Periscope: Aging Biden has “conceded”, claims NYT; White House denies

Virendra Pandit

New Delhi: Has the beleaguered US President Joe Biden “conceded” defeat, even before his nomination by the ruling Democrats for the November elections?

Dozens of Democratic lawmakers are considering signing a letter demanding Biden withdraw from the presidential race, the media reported a senior party official as saying.

According to speculations, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Barack Obama’s wife Michelle might be among those who could replace him as the Democrats’ nominee.

A Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll in May showed Harris gaining trust among swing-state voters, 48% of whom say she’s ready to assume the duties of the presidency if Biden were unable to continue.

Amid ongoing political turmoil, President Biden, on Tuesday, attributed his debate debacle to his long travels overseas and the jet lag which exhausted him so much that he dozed off during the event.

Aging, Biden, 81, has served for 36 years in the US Senate, and his Democrats are now largely silent about his presidential candidacy during a week of political turmoil triggered by his disastrous performance in a TV debate with his Republican rival Donald Trump on June 27.
“The drumbeat of pressure on Joe Biden to drop out of the US presidential race intensified Wednesday with a bombshell report in the New York Times that he had conceded the possibility to a key ally, as well as movement within his own party to demand his withdrawal,” Bloomberg reported on Thursday.

The White House and Biden’s poll campaign managers, however, quickly denied the Times’ report that suggested the President had vocalized to a supporter that he could ill-afford another misstep that would irrevocably damage his campaign. Biden himself insisted to campaign staff he intended to remain in the race.

“I’m in this race to the end and we’re going to win because when Democrats unite, we will always win,” Biden said in a call alongside Vice President Kamala Harris.

But time is running out for him to convince anxious Democratic officials, donors, and voters that he remains viable in his effort to keep Trump from returning to the White House.

President Biden told his ally the race would be in a “different place” if upcoming events went poorly, the Times reported. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre subsequently said he had flatly denied making such a comment.

Now, he plans an interview with ABC News on Friday (July 5) and to hold a rally in Madison, Wisconsin. On Sunday, he’ll travel to Philadelphia for another campaign event and possible interviews with Black radio stations in Philadelphia and Milwaukee to coincide with his travel.

President Biden has been calling senior Democratic lawmakers – including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries – in a bid to shore up support on Capitol Hill, even as some members of his party are publicly expressing dismay about his campaign.

So far, two sitting House Democrats – Lloyd Doggett of Texas and Raul Grijalva of Arizona – have publicly called for Biden to step aside. But the President may not be able to survive a coordinated revolt among Democratic lawmakers worried that his poor performance could cost them seats or a shot at control of the House and Senate in the upcoming election.

A Senate Democrat said Wednesday evening that several colleagues had privately indicated they didn’t see a way for the president to survive politically. Biden hadn’t assuaged concerns about his debate collapse against Trump.

Later on Wednesday, Biden held a hastily arranged meeting with Democratic governors, many of whom could replace him on the ticket. Some also voice support to Biden. “The president was very clear that he is in this to win this,” Governor Wes Moore of Maryland told reporters.

But, on Tuesday, the Washington Post said that former President Barack Obama had privately conveyed to allies that Biden’s path to re-election was more challenging after his debate performance last week.

The Leadership Now Project, a group of business leaders who had organized to counter what they saw as threats to democracy during the last Trump administration, called for Biden to cede his place as the Democratic nominee.

“This process will undoubtedly be messy and is not without risk,” the group said in a statement. “However, the stakes are too high not to act.”

A New York Times/Siena College poll released Wednesday found Trump’s lead over Biden had grown to six points, 49% from 43%, with nearly three-quarters of voters saying the Democratic president is too old for the job.