White House: Biden is "absolutely not" withdrawing from the presidential election campaign
Since Biden's appearance at the TV debate with Trump, a discussion among Democrats has arisen about whether they should replace the 81-year-old with another candidate for the presidential election. Biden, who at 81 is the oldest president in US history, spoke with a hoarse voice during the TV debate with Trump, repeated himself in his statements, and did not finish some sentences.
The "New York Times" and CNN reported on a Wednesday that Biden told a close friend he needed to quickly convince the public that he could handle the job. "He knows things look different when he has two more of those events," the friend told the "New York Times" about Biden.
The White House immediately denied this. "He's still campaigning, he's still running for president," Press Secretary Jean-Pierre said. "Everything else that we're hearing or that's being reported is completely false."
Meanwhile, in a call with campaign and party workers, Biden emphasized that he intended to stay in the race for the White House. "I'm still in the race and we're going to win, because when the Democrats unite, we always win," Biden said, according to campaign sources. "Just like we beat Donald Trump in 2020, we'll beat him again in 2024."
Biden reiterated the message at an emergency meeting at the White House with Democratic governors who pledged their support. "We said we'll be with you," said Maryland Governor Wes Moore, who is considered an up-and-coming politician and potential future presidential candidate, along with Tim Walz, Governor of Minnesota, and Kathy Hochul, Governor of New York. Walz said Biden was "fit" for the job.
Previously, Biden had cited fatigue from several foreign trips as the reason for his weak performance. It was not very smart to travel around the world several times right before the debate, he said. "I didn't listen to my team (...) and then I almost fell asleep on stage," he said.
In a Wednesday interview with Civic Media in Wisconsin, Biden said, "I messed up." The 81-year-old went on: "I made a mistake. It was 90 minutes on stage. Look at what I've done in 3.5 years."
ABC News announced on Wednesday the first TV interview with Biden since the debate, which is scheduled to be broadcast in full length on Sunday. The 81-year-old also plans to travel to Wisconsin and Pennsylvania in the coming days - both states are so-called Swing States, in which neither the Democrats nor the Republicans can count on a clear victory and which ultimately decide the outcome of the presidential election on November 5.
- The discussion among Democrats about replacing Biden for the presidential election gained attention in news outlets like the New York Times.
- The presidential election campaign of Tim Walz, a potential future candidate, was mentioned in the same context as Biden's.
- During a call with campaign and party workers, Biden expressed his intent to stay in the race for the Presidential election campaign.
- Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House Press Secretary, dismissed rumors of Biden dropping out of the Presidential election campaign as false.
- Donals Trump, his competition in the Presidential election, was mentioned in association with the campaign's developments.
- The New York Times reported that Biden expressed concerns about his performance in the presidential election campaign debate.
- CNN also highlighted Biden's need to convince the public of his ability to handle the role of the US President.
- After the debate, Biden cited fatigue from foreign trips as one of the reasons for his weak performance in the presidential election campaign.
- Biden planned to give a full-length interview to ABC News, in an attempt to address the issues raised in the presidential election campaign debate.
