USA Biden with his back to the wall - party mood among Republicans

While the Republicans demonstrate unity in good spirits at their party conference in Milwaukee, the situation for US President Joe Biden continues to deteriorate. After a brief respite, the Democrat is facing new demands to withdraw from the campaign for a second term in office. At the same time, his health is giving him a hard time - he has tested positive for coronavirus. In Milwaukee, on the other hand, Donald Trump's candidate for vice president, J.D. Vance, gave his first major speech as a running mate.

Biden cancels campaign tour due to corona

US President Biden arrived at his beach house in Rehoboth Beach in the state of Delaware almost simultaneously on Wednesday evening (local time). The 81-year-old is retiring there with mild symptoms after having to cancel a campaign trip in the state of Nevada due to the positive coronavirus test. The illness hit Biden just as the debate about his candidacy had flared up again. After the assassination attempt on Trump during a campaign appearance at the weekend, Biden was only able to take a short breather.

While Biden was on the campaign trail in Nevada, prominent Democratic congressman Adam Schiff called on the 81-year-old to drop out of the presidential race. Shortly afterwards, the media reported unanimously that the two top Democrats in the US Congress, Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer, had already warned Biden last week not to stick to his presidential bid.

Report: Pelosi speaks to Biden's conscience

Finally, CNN reported, citing unnamed sources, that top Democratic politician Nancy Pelosi had recently told the US President in a conversation that he could not beat President Trump in the race for the White House. Biden reacted dismissively. The New York Times, on the other hand, wrote that Biden had been open to such warnings in recent days and would at least listen to the arguments. The newspaper cited Democrats who had been informed about the talks as its source.

Biden has so far rejected all calls for him to withdraw and has made it clear that he has no plans to quit. In a TV interview broadcast on Wednesday, Biden said in response to a question that a medical problem could lead him to consider withdrawing.

The Democrat is under massive pressure from within his own ranks due to his advanced age and doubts about his mental health. Since a disastrous performance in a televised duel against his opponent Trump, various Democratic MPs have called on him to drop out of the presidential race in recent weeks. Many others have publicly expressed great concern about his election chances.

Prominent calls for withdrawal

Congressman Schiff, who is running for a position in the Senate, has now stated that he has serious concerns as to whether Biden can defeat the Republican presidential candidate Trump in November. Biden has had great successes, but it is time to clear the way for someone else. Schiff is a confidant of Pelosi. The 84-year-old continues to have great influence in the party and had already signaled in a TV interview last week that the debate about Biden's candidacy was not yet over. The fact that she expressly refrained from expressing her support for Biden made headlines.

Reports: Top Democrats in Congress warned Biden

Biden's persistence is apparently also causing concern at the highest party level. Both Schumer, majority leader in the Senate, and Jeffries, minority leader in the House of Representatives, had held separate talks with Biden last week and warned that Biden's insistence on his presidential bid could lead to the Democrats losing control of both chambers of Congress.

This was reported by the Washington Post and ABC News, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter. Schumer's office said in response to the reports on Wednesday that the senator had conveyed his caucus's views to Biden. As long as the source is not Schumer or Biden, reporting is in the realm of speculation.

In addition to the presidency, many seats in parliament will also be up for grabs in the November election. The entire House of Representatives will be re-elected and a third of the seats in the Senate are up for election. The Democrats fear that the Republicans could control both chambers of Congress as well as the White House after the election. A number of MPs are worried that the lack of support for Biden could also cost them re-election.

Runny nose and cough

Biden, who wants to be confirmed in office after the election in November, was in Las Vegas on Wednesday to canvass for votes, particularly among the Hispanic population. The positive corona test threw a spanner in the works. He had respiratory problems, a runny nose and a cough, his doctor said. He had received his first dose of the Covid drug Paxlovid. Biden belongs to the risk group due to his advanced age. He last tested positive for the virus two years ago in the summer.

Celebratory mood in Milwaukee

The mood among the Republicans is currently very different to that of the Democrats. At the party convention in Milwaukee on Monday, Trump was officially chosen as the party's presidential candidate. His big speech is expected in Germany on Friday night. Since the start of the spectacle in the huge event hall, Trump has been appearing there every evening to the cheers of his party colleagues. The 78-year-old, who was injured in the ear in an attempted assassination attempt at the weekend, does not speak in public. Instead, he sits in a special section of the audience with a bandaged ear.

Trump's running mate wants to convince workers

Trump's running mate Vance had his big test on Wednesday evening (local time). In his speech, he portrayed Trump as a man of moderation who had called for unity after the attack. At the same time, the celebrated author and law graduate presented himself as a man of the people. In his speech, the 39-year-old tried to appeal particularly to white workers in the so-called swing states. These are election-deciding states that cannot be firmly attributed to either the Republicans or the Democrats.

Earlier, Trump's son Donald Trump Jr. and the governor of the state of Texas, Greg Abbott, fired up the audience. The party members repeatedly erupted into cheers, holding up signs reading "Mass deportations now" or shouting "Build the wall" in reference to Trump's unfinished border wall on the US southern border with Mexico. The Republicans have presented a united front in Milwaukee over the past few days and are showing themselves to be exuberantly optimistic with a view to the election in November.

SDA