USA Is Biden dropping out of the US election campaign? Democrats nervous
The air is getting thinner for President Joe Biden in the US election campaign: after his disastrous performance in the TV debate against challenger Donald Trump, the Democrat's poll ratings are deteriorating.
04.07.2024, 03:45
SDA
In addition, there are increasing calls within his own party for the 81-year-old to withdraw from the race for the presidency. Biden still wants to secure a second term in the US election in November and prevent Trump from returning to the White House. However, it seems questionable whether and for how long he will be able to withstand the pressure.
Poll ratings in the basement
In recent weeks, Trump and Biden have been neck-and-neck in the polls. The Republican was always one to two percentage points ahead - despite his scandals and conviction in a New York criminal trial. Since the televised debate, however, Trump has been able to significantly increase his lead among voters, as recent polls show. Surveys by the "New York Times", CNN and the "Wall Street Journal" now put him six to eight percentage points ahead of Biden. This is increasing nervousness among the Democrats - and apparently also their willingness to consider another candidate.
In the USA, such polls play a major role - although they are often comparatively inaccurate due to various factors. An increase in poor ratings for a politician can send an important signal to their supporters, including the donors who are indispensable in the US election campaign.
Pressure on Biden is growing
Top politicians from Biden's party have been reluctant to publicly criticize him in recent days. On Tuesday, the first Democratic member of the US House of Representatives, Lloyd Doggett from Texas, publicly called on Biden to drop out of the race and make way for another candidate. A second Democratic congressman, Raúl Grijalva from Arizona, joined the calls on Wednesday.
But things are boiling behind the scenes: Biden picked up the phone himself for crisis talks, according to the White House. Accordingly, he spoke on the phone on Wednesday with high-ranking Democrats such as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and other members of parliament.
In the evening, Biden met with more than 20 Democratic governors - presumably with the aim of securing their support. The Governor of Maryland, Wes Moore, described the conversation afterwards as "sincere". They are behind Biden, but are concerned about the Democrats' position in the race for the presidency.
In the White House, Biden's chief of staff Jeff Zients tried to limit the damage. In a conference call with more than 500 government employees, Zients called on everyone to tune out the "noise" surrounding Biden and concentrate on government work, according to media reports. The past few days have been a challenge. The focus of all employees on government work will be even more important in the hot election campaign phase, he said.
White House: Biden remains in the race
Government headquarters is still trying vehemently to dispel any doubts about the president's suitability for office. White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre, who normally only comments from her podium on government matters and not explicitly on the election campaign, repeatedly emphasized that Biden would remain in the race.
The White House had previously rejected media reports suggesting that Biden was considering withdrawing. The "New York Times" report states that the President has spoken to an "important ally" about this. According to the latter, Biden said in the conversation that he knew he might not be able to save his candidacy if he could not convince others of his suitability as a presidential candidate in the coming days. "This assertion is absolutely false," a spokesperson for the government headquarters said in response.
Biden plans to make several appearances in the coming days: A television interview is scheduled for Friday, followed by campaign appearances in the states of Wisconsin and Pennsylvania in the coming days and a press conference at the NATO summit in the US capital Washington next week.
Vice Harris moves into focus
Meanwhile, the focus is increasingly turning to Biden's deputy Kamala Harris. She could replace Biden in the race for the presidency. While heaps of speculation about a possible change were circulating on social media in particular, a team of supporters of former President Donald Trump went on a verbal frontal attack against the Democrat. "Democrats are beginning to rally behind Kamala Harris as it can no longer be denied that Joe Biden is unfit for office," the campaigners said in a statement.
