“Biden should step down for the good of the country,” Peter Welch, a Democratic senator from Vermont, said yesterday in the columns of Washington PostShortly after its release in the American press, the 77-year-old elected official – only five years younger than Joe Biden (81 years old, 82 in November 2024) – declared: “We cannot ignore what we have seen.”
In his sights, the debate that opposed him to Donald Trump, two weeks ago. Despite rather favorable conditions – no audience, his opponent’s microphone turned off during his speeches -, Joe Biden nevertheless often searched for his words, and sometimes for long moments…
Funding is “drying up”
The troubles of the invested candidate worry within the Democratic camp. “Funding is drying up” reports the Financial Timesaccording to a long-time patron of the Democratic camp. However, according to the American media, it should be “the most expensive race for the White House in the history of the United States.”
American actor George Clooney pulled off a coup last June. At a gala he co-hosted, attended by Barack Obama, the actor achieved one of the largest fundraisers. $28 million was collected. So when he signed on July 10, a tribune of the New York Times titled “I like Joe Biden but we need another candidate”, as president as he is, Joe Biden takes a hit.
The first dissidences
One of the leading figures in the Democratic camp, Nancy Pelosi – former Speaker of the House of Representatives in the first half of Biden’s term – asked the president to “make a decision” quickly. The Democrat nevertheless tried to please both parties, inviting her peers to “let him take care of the conference” and to “see how the week goes” by not putting personal opinions “on the table”.
Nancy Pelosi asked the president to “make a decision” quickly.
© / afp.com/OLIVIER DOULIERY
Michael Bennet, a Democratic senator from Colorado, is angry with White House aides. “In my opinion, [ils] have done nothing since the catastrophic debate to give any assurance that they have a plan to win the election,” he charged on CNN Tuesday night. In private, reports the Axios websiteSenate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he would support another candidate.
According to an Ipsos surveypublished on July 2, Michelle Obama – former First Lady – would be the only one able to beat Trump. To the question: “If the presidential elections were held immediately and you had the choice between Michelle Obama (Democrat) and Donald Trump (Republican), who would you vote for?”, 55% would give their vote to Barack Obama’s wife. Donald Trump would only garner 35% of voters’ favor in this arrangement. Note that the poll takes into account blank votes, abstentions and the possibility of a vote for another candidate.
Biden clings to his inauguration
Tonight, at the end of the NATO summit that he has been hosting since Tuesday, the American president will appear before an assembly of journalists. He will conduct this press conference without notes and without a teleprompter. Joe Biden has not engaged in this exercise since February 2023. He is not really a fan of this type of meeting since he has only had 36 since taking office. Of the last six presidents, only Ronald Reagan has done less.
In an editorialPeter Spiegel projects himself into a world where Joe Biden is re-elected. The editor-in-chief of Financial Times anticipates “medical examinations every time he speaks” and imagines that “every attempt to protect him from the press would be subject to significant criticism”. In short, an unbearable situation.
Since his failed debate, the Democratic candidate has defended himself on the microphone of interviewer George Stephanopoulos of the ABC channel. During this highly anticipated appearance, Friday, July 5, he had defended his cause, claiming to be “the most qualified candidate” to “win the election.” Before he can claim it, he will have to surpass himself this Thursday evening (9:30 p.m., French time), to win back those he loses.