President Joe Biden faces increasing pressure to abandon his reelection campaign after a disappointing debate performance against Donald Trump. To regain confidence, Biden must excel at a series of upcoming events.
With some Democrats calling on him to step aside in favor of Vice President Kamala Harris, Biden must demonstrate his resilience and mental alertness to voters and donors.
Biden will host families at the annual Fourth of July festivities at the White House on Thursday, followed by an interview on ABC News on Friday. He will then travel to Wisconsin the same day for a campaign rally with hundreds of supporters.
On Sunday, Biden and his wife Jill will address thousands at the National Education Association in Pennsylvania. Next week, he will host dozens of world leaders at the NATO summit in Washington and hold a rare solo news conference. He has also participated in several radio interviews.
Dozens of House Democrats are closely monitoring Biden’s performance, ready to ask him to step down if he falters during the ABC interview, according to a source cited by Reuters.
Biden’s already mixed poll numbers against Trump slipped slightly after the debate a week ago in Atlanta, but a new Reuters/Ipsos poll shows Biden tied with Trump this week, indicating a close race.
Trump and Biden each garnered 40% support among registered voters in the two-day poll that ended Tuesday. An earlier Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted June 11-12 showed Trump with a marginal 2 percentage point lead, 41% to 39%.
Some former supporters are urging Biden, who would be 86 at the end of a second term, to step down to preserve his legacy and reduce the chances of a second Trump presidency. In an interview Wednesday with Earl Ingram of “The Earl Ingram Show,” Biden vowed to continue his campaign.
“I screwed up, I made a mistake. It’s 90 minutes on stage. Look what I’ve accomplished in the last three and a half years,” he said.
On Wednesday, Biden met with a group of Democratic governors at the White House to make his case. Some governors expressed continued support for him afterward.
“President Joe Biden is here to win,” New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul told reporters after the talks.
Maryland Democratic Gov. Wes Moore said, “We know we have work to do. It’s going to take all of us to make it happen.” Gavin Newsom, the governor of California and often seen as a Biden alternative, said on X (formerly Twitter) that he was “fully committed” to Biden.
Meanwhile, Raul Grijalva of Arizona called on Biden to withdraw from the race, and Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts pointed to Biden’s age as a liability.
“The sad reality is that the status quo will likely deliver President Trump,” Moulton said in a statement. “President Biden is not getting any younger.”
Biden’s July 4th party kicks off events that may reassure Democrats (msn.com)
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