“I feel great,” Joe Biden told reporters Wednesday, July 17, as he boarded the presidential plane. Air Force One. While campaigning to woo Hispanic voters in Nevada, the 81-year-old Democratic president “tested positive” for Covid-19, according to a White House statement. He is “fully vaccinated,” suffering from “mild symptoms” and will observe a period of isolation in his stronghold of Delaware during which “he will continue to fully exercise his functions,” his spokeswoman said.
The announcement of his Covid-19 infection comes at a time when his political survival is at stake since his disastrous performance in a debate at the end of June against his rival in the presidential election race, Donald Trump, which has sparked a wave of questions about his physical and mental capacities, and the multiplication of requests for his withdrawal from elected officials in his own party.
Joe Biden ‘more receptive’ to arguments in favor of his withdrawal
So far, only 20 members of the House of Representatives and one senator have publicly called on the president to withdraw from the race in November’s presidential election. “But privately, many others have expressed deep concerns,” the American daily says. The New York Times.
According to testimony collected by the newspaper, “President Biden has become more receptive in recent days to hearing arguments about why he should abandon his reelection bid.” While he has not signaled an intention to step down, “he has shown a willingness to listen to troubling new poll results and has asked questions about how Vice President Kamala Harris might win,” according to these Democratic witnesses.
Kamala Harris is considered the favorite if Biden were to withdraw. According to a recent poll by The Associated Press and NORC, an independent research institute at the University of Chicago, nearly two-thirds of Democrats want Joe Biden to throw in the towel after his disastrous debate against Donald Trump.
Interviewed Tuesday by BET, the 81-year-old presidential candidate reiterated that he had no intention of quitting the race. But when asked what might make him consider throwing in the towel, he 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 that Joe Biden has opened the door to the idea of abandoning his campaign, while several major donors have defected.
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Adam Schiff asks him to “pass the torch”
While the assassination attempt on Donald Trump on Saturday had given him a bit of a reprieve, calls for a withdrawal resumed on Wednesday with the influential elected Democrat from California, Adam Schiff. Joe Biden “has been one of the most important presidents in the history of our country […]” he said in a statement to Los Angeles Times. “But our nation is at a crossroads. […]. A second Trump presidency would undermine the very foundations of our democracy, and I have serious concerns about the president’s ability to defeat Donald Trump in November,” he added. While “the choice to step down from the campaign is Joe Biden’s,” the elected official believes it is time for the 81-year-old president to “pass the torch.”
According to ABC Newsthe powerful Democratic majority leader in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, has also “vigorously argued that it would be better for Biden, for the Democratic Party and for the country if he were to step down.” His team has not exactly denied it, but called the information “pure speculation,” “unless ABC’s source is Sen. Chuck Schumer or President Joe Biden.”
THE New York Times and the Washington Post They mentioned talks 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 they reportedly expressed “concerns within their ranks that Biden could deprive them of a majority.” A White House spokesperson responded to AFP, saying that 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.
In this tense context, Democratic Party officials announced Wednesday their intention to accelerate the nomination process with an early voting system whose terms have yet to be defined. The system would allow voting virtually during the first week of August, rather than waiting for the Democratic Convention which begins in Chicago on August 19, and during which the candidate must officially be sworn in for the presidential election on November 5.
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.