USA Showdown with the Democrats: Biden in distress - Trump rejoices

The internal pressure from US Democrats on President Joe Biden continues to increase. At a rapid pace, more and more Democrats are venturing out of Congress to publicly call on their 81-year-old party colleague to drop out of the presidential race. The tone is also becoming harsher. One congressman publicly stated that he no longer recognized Biden during a recent meeting. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump used his first campaign rally after the assassination attempt on him to lash out at his faltering opponent Biden and mock his crisis.

The Democrats' rebellion

The background to the revolt is doubts about the president's mental fitness and his ability to beat Trump in the election in November and hold office for another four years. In the meantime, around three dozen party colleagues from both chambers have openly called on Biden to drop out of the race for a second term.

Behind the scenes, according to media reports, the very top echelons of the party are also trying to persuade Biden to withdraw, including the two top Democrats in Congress, Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries, as well as the former leader of the House of Representatives and still influential Democrat, Nancy Pelosi. Biden's former boss, ex-President Barack Obama, is also said to have expressed concerns.

The concerted action from within his own party is remarkable. The fact that non-public statements from the most influential Democrats in the country have been leaked in parallel over the past few days is probably no coincidence either.

And unpleasant details are also gradually being made public. Democratic MP Seth Moulton described an encounter with Biden on the sidelines of the celebrations for the 80th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy in his withdrawal request: "For the first time, he didn't seem to recognize me."

Cover-up?

The Republican chairman of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, accused the Democrats of trying to cover up Biden's real status over a long period of time. Johnson told CNN that they had constantly told voters how fit and agile the president was. "They all knew that wasn't true," he lamented. "Everyone who had dealings with him over the years knew that wasn't true."

Biden retreated to his private home in Rehoboth Beach in the state of Delaware a few days ago after contracting coronavirus and has not made any appointments since. Publicly, he has so far firmly rejected all calls for him to withdraw and has announced that he will return to the campaign stage next week. His campaign team also insists that he has no plans to quit. According to the US media, however, the 81-year-old is no longer categorically ruling out withdrawing from the presidential race in view of the enormous resistance in his own ranks.

Trump's schadenfreude

For Trump, the crisis of his rival and the Democratic Party is a feast for the eyes. "They have a couple of problems. One: they have no idea who their candidate is," the Republican mocked at a campaign appearance in Grand Rapids, Michigan. A few days ago, the 78-year-old was himself chosen as the presidential candidate by his party with great pomp and a show of unity.

Trump made fun of the Democratic incumbent several times during his appearance. Biden cannot find his way off a stage on his own. "He has no idea what he's doing." The Republican disparaged his rival as a "weak old man" and "stupid person" who surrounds himself with communists and bad people.

Trump also took an offensive approach to Vice President Kamala Harris, who is considered the most likely replacement candidate in the event of Biden withdrawing from the election campaign. "She's crazy", Trump raged. He could tell by her laugh. "She's nuts."

It was Trump's first classic election rally since the assassination attempt on him. A week earlier, a gunman had opened fire at a similar campaign event in the town of Butler in the state of Pennsylvania and shot Trump. The perpetrator, who fired from a flat roof outside the venue, was killed by security forces. One visitor to the rally died and two others were wounded. Trump was injured in his right ear. The incident was an escalation in the already heated US election campaign and raised serious questions as to whether Trump was adequately protected.

Secret Service under pressure after assassination attempt

Trump's event in Grand Rapids did not take place outside, but in an arena. According to a report in the New York Times, the Secret Service, which is responsible for protecting high-ranking politicians in the USA, has now admitted that it has rejected several requests for additional resources for Trump's protection in recent years. The agency's spokesperson initially rejected such accusations immediately after the assassination. Upon request, the Secret Service did not initially comment on the report. The head of the agency is due to answer questions about the assassination attempt on Trump in Congress on Monday and Tuesday.

In Grand Rapids, the Republican also made his first appearance at a campaign rally together with his new vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance. "I made the right choice," Trump said of his new running mate. "He's so good."

His campaign team also released details of Trump's gunshot wound. According to Trump's doctor Ronny Jackson, the bullet missed the ex-president's head by less than a centimeter during the assassination attempt. The shot hit the upper part of Trump's right ear and caused a wound about two centimeters wide. It is healing well. Jackson emphasized: "It is an absolute miracle that he was not killed."

SDA