US President Joe Biden does not appear to have dispelled doubts on Saturday about his ability to govern the country for a second term, the day after a crucial interview in which he defended his candidacy without really convincing anyone.
“The president is proud of his record, and rightly so. But he appears dangerously out of touch with people’s concerns about his ability to move forward and his position in this campaign.”judged the influential David Axelrod, former strategist of Barack Obama, on X on Friday evening.
In what was billed as a watershed television interview, the 81-year-old Democrat said no one else was “more qualified” to beat Donald Trump in November, denying the reality of the polls which place him in clear difficulty against his Republican opponent.
In his interview with ABC reporter George Stephanopoulos, he also repeatedly dodged questions about whether his physical and mental health had deteriorated during his tenure.
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”did he declare. “Not only am I campaigning, I’m also running the world”he added after explaining his poor performance during the debate by his “exhaustion”.
The Democratic candidate therefore still has a lot to do to erase the disastrous impression left by his debate against Donald Trump, whose immediate consequences he was not at all successful in managing: a wave of calls for his withdrawal in the press and a surge in concerns about his mental health within his party.
Crisis meeting
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is set to hold a (virtual) crisis meeting of top Democrats on Sunday to discuss how best to proceed as Congress returns to session this week.
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 drop his candidacy.
A fifth elected official, Angie Craig, joined them on Saturday, saying in a statement that in “The lack of a forceful response from the president himself following this debate, I don’t think the president can run an effective campaign and win against Donald Trump.”.
Joe Biden’s campaign team is, despite everything, moving forward.
Although the American president has nothing on his agenda on Saturday, he is due to take part in several campaign meetings in the eastern state of Pennsylvania on Sunday.
His team unveiled an intense battle plan for July on Friday, including an avalanche of television spots and trips to all the key states, including the southwest of the country during the Republican convention (July 15-18).
Before that, Joe Biden must participate in an intense international sequence by hosting a summit of NATO leaders next week. And he will hold a press conference on Thursday, which will be closely scrutinized, well beyond the country’s borders.
