President Joe Biden on Friday again defied calls for him to withdraw his candidacy from the election. “The American people saw on Thursday the same Donald Trump they rejected four years ago. I will defeat him at the ballot box,” he said. He also announced that he would resume his campaign next week after being forced to suspend it on Wednesday because of COVID-19.
“Last night, Americans saw the same Donald Trump they rejected four years ago. For over 90 minutes, he focused on his own grievances with no plan to unite us and make life better for working people. … Donald Trump's dark vision for the future is not what we need as Americans,” Biden said in a statement released by his campaign.
In his first speech since the failed assassination attempt, Trump called for unity, but in the same speech he repeated his most outspoken campaign theses, accusing Democrats of election fraud, destroying the country, and enabling the “invasion” of illegal immigrants. He also announced that he would end all wars and do so with a single phone call.
US President Joe BidenJIM LO SCALZO/PAP/EPA
Biden announced the resumption of the election campaign
Biden also announced that he would resume his election campaign next week after being forced to suspend it on Wednesday due to infection. COVID-19.
With his statement, Biden once again defied the growing number of calls from his Democratic Party to withdraw his candidacy. On Friday, more than 20 members of Congress joined the calls, and eight more lawmakers, including Senators Jon Tester and Martin Heinrich, joined them. In behind-the-scenes talks, Biden was reportedly encouraged to resign by party leaders in Congress — the Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and former Speaker of the House Nancy PelosiAccording to CNN, Pelosi reportedly expressed her belief that Biden was close to making a decision to withdraw from elections.
Joe Biden “is in the race”
– He's absolutely in it (the race for president – ed.) – Biden's campaign chairwoman Jen O'Malley Dillon assured earlier on Friday in an interview with MSNBC. She added that the president takes the concerns of some Democrats about his candidacy seriously and is committed to fighting for a second term.
Biden's campaign team assures that the president USA will remain the Democratic Party candidate in the November elections.
“Joe Biden has made it clear: he is in this race and he wants to win it. There is no plan for an alternative candidate,” wrote Dan Kanninen of Biden's campaign in an internal memo cited by American and British media.
“In a few weeks, Joe Biden will become the official candidate. It's high time we stopped fighting each other. The only person who wins when we fight each other is Donald Trump,” Kanninen stressed.
He added that although voters have mentioned his age in conversations with Biden's campaign members, the Democratic target electorate plans to vote for the current president.
The Democratic National Convention will be held on August 22.
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NBC on Biden family reports
According to NBC, citing two people privy to Biden family discussions, the president's close relatives were supposed to discuss what the president's best exit plan from the election campaign could look like if he decided to withdraw his candidacy.
The idea would be – as reported by the editorial team – a scenario in which Biden would end the race for the White House on his own terms and in a way that would leave the party in the best possible position to defeat Donald Trump. The station's sources said the arguments for this include the campaign's impact on the health of Biden, 81, who is currently battling COVID-19, on his family and on the stability of the country.
The station's information about the Biden family's discussions was denied by White House deputy spokeswoman Andrew Bates. “That's not happening, period. Those who say that do not speak for the family or his team – and they will be proven wrong. Keep the faith,” Bates said, as quoted by NBC.
Joe Biden has COVID-19
Biden tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 on Wednesday while in Las Vegas, forcing him to pause his campaign. He is isolating at his vacation home in the Delaware coastal resort of Rehoboth Beach.
This is the second time Biden, 81, has been infected with coronavirus. He first had COVID-19 in July 2022. He has been vaccinated against the coronavirus.
Biden’s illness comes at a time when pressure is mounting for him to withdraw from the presidential election. Criticisms emerged in June after the Democrat’s poor performance in a televised debate with Donald Trump. The White House said one reason for his poor performance was a cold he was suffering from at the time.
Main image source: PAP/EPA/MICHAEL REYNOLDS