If last week was high voltage, this one that begins could be critical for President Joe Biden’s political survival.
According to the criteria of
Following the destructive debate against Donald Trump on June 26, the US president spent the following days engaged in an extensive damage control campaign, attempting to silence doubts that arose about his health and cognitive abilities.
According to the White House, the president has participated in more than 15 campaign events and given radio and television interviews, most notably one last Friday with ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos in which Biden insisted that, despite the pressure, he does not intend to withdraw from the electoral race against Donald Trump “unless God himself comes down from heaven and asks him to.”
However, even though the president appeared a little more composed and lucid than during the exchange with the Republican, neither the interview with Stephanopoulos nor his other interventions dispelled fears within the Democratic Party, which seems to have entered into a spiral.
Although not yet a hemorrhage, The voices calling for Biden to step aside have been growing steadily over the past ten days.
According to various media outlets, at least 10 House representatives have already openly expressed this. Six of them publicly, and another four during a teleconference this Sunday between party leaders that included heavyweights such as Jerry Nadler (New York).
Mark Werner, chairman of the US Senate Intelligence Committee, has been privately insisting that Biden is not capable of defeating Trump
Many others, including lawmakers Richie Neal, Rosa DeLauro, Maxine Waters and Bobby Scott on the opposing side, came to Biden’s defense, and for now, more are on his side (at least publicly).
But the “insurrection” has not stopped growing and soon – if the current trajectory does not change – it could reach critical mass.
More delicate for Biden is the silence in the Senate where the unrest is equally palpable although it has not yet surfaced. The Upper House, where Biden worked for more than 30 years, is considered a nerve center for his aspirations. Not only because of its political stature (it only has 100 members compared to 435 in the lower house) but because the president’s main allies are there.
In fact, several media outlets in the country indicated that the senator Mark Werner, chairman of the US Senate Intelligence Committee, has been privately insisting that Biden is not capable of defeating Trump and promotes a strategy to force the president to abandon the strategy.
For now, Chuck Shummer, the Democratic leader in the Senate, has asked his colleagues to moderate their comments until there are concrete polls that can measure the momentum.
According to Shummer, recent polls showing Biden’s decline of up to 6 percentage points since the debate are not reliable, as many people are on vacation these days.
In any case, both chambers return to work on Monday after the July 4 recess and, most likely, the number one item on the agenda will be the future of the electoral campaign.
Is Kamala Harris a Democratic contender to replace Joe Biden?
In parallel, reports have emerged that many Democrats They already assume that Biden will sooner or later leave the race and have begun to circle around Vice President Kamala Harris as the most viable (and perhaps the only) option to replace him.
Nor have a series of investigations by newspapers such as The Washington Post and The New York Timesaccording to which the deterioration of the president’s cognitive abilities is not limited to a single “bad night” – as the White House reiterates – but rather a clear pattern that has been noted in many of his public and private meetings.
They also claim that the president’s inner circle is clear about this and that this would imply a reduced number of campaign activities and the use of a teleprompter even for the most casual encounters.
Something that Republicans who support Donald Trump are taking advantage of, so much so that they are already talking about a cover-up and even demanding a cognitive exam of the president to determine if he is fit to govern.
Loss of campaign funds puts pressure on Democrats
The other problem, and a serious one, is the effect that Joe Biden’s stumbles could be having on the party’s ability to raise funds, a vital issue since without financing it is very difficult to campaign in a country as large as the United Statesnot only for the presidential contest but also for the legislative elections.
While the campaign has said fundraising remains strong, they are not required to report revenue until mid-August, adding to the uncertainty. But there have already been reports of major donors putting their contributions on hold and others considering doing so.
Notable, for example, is the case of Reed Hastings -co-founder of Netflix and one of the biggest contributors to the Democratic cause-, who asked Biden to drop out of the race and nominate someone with a real chance of defeating Trump.
Also highlighted are cases such as that of Lisa Menneta major donor from the Seattle area, Washington, who has already stated that she will not give another penny to the campaign until the president steps aside.
A busy schedule for Joe Biden to demonstrate his ‘lucidity’
If Biden makes another stumble at any of these events, it could be lethal. But if his performance exceeds expectations, on the other hand, the president could stop the snowball before it continues to grow.
Biden, on the other hand, will face a week full of challenges that may pose risks as well as opportunities.
Starting this Tuesday, a new one will be installed Three-day summit at the White House to commemorate 75 years of NATOwhich will be attended by almost all European leaders and which will include a closing press conference where not only his words, but also his manner of behaving will be scrutinised.
Additionally, Joe Biden has scheduled face-to-face meetings with Congressional leaders and a couple of campaign events in Michigan, one of the states that could define the next elections.
That’s why everyone agrees that if Biden makes another blunder at any of these events, it could be lethal. But if his performance exceeds expectations, on the other hand, the president could stop the snowball before it continues to grow. That remains to be seen.
SERGIO GOMEZ MASERI
Correspondent for EL TIEMPO
Washington
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