Washington.- President Joe Biden said he will not abandon the Democratic Party’s candidacy for the White House given what he considered to be the gravity of the historic moment that the United States is experiencing, in addition to defending his current physical condition to complete a second term.
At a crucial news conference, Biden rejected any suggestion that he withdraw from the Democratic presidential nomination despite calls from nearly 20 members of his own party, citing physical weakness reflected in the first debate against Republican rival Donald Trump.
“I’ve had three major, intensive neurological exams… as recently as February. And they say I’m in good shape… I’m doing well,” Biden said at a press conference following the close of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Summit in Washington, DC.
For nearly an hour, the 81-year-old president answered questions from 11 journalists, defending his record but also saying that the US is going through a very serious moment, which prevents him from handing over the presidential candidacy baton to a younger generation of politicians.
“What changed was the gravity of the situation that I inherited, in terms of the economy, our foreign policy and the division at home,” Biden said, highlighting the threat he says posed by his political rival Donald Trump, 78, who faces multiple criminal lawsuits.
“I’m not in this for my legacy. I’m in this to complete the work I started.”
While observers in Washington saw Biden as having improved his performance from the debacle of the first presidential debate against Trump in late June, the conference did not stop calls from members of his own party to cede the nomination to a younger Democrat.
As of Thursday evening, the total number of Democratic lawmakers calling for Biden to drop out of the race totaled 17, with three congressmen — Jim Hines, Scott Peters and Eric Sorensen — speaking out after the president’s press conference, showing the bleeding had not stopped.
“There is a lot at stake and we are on a lost course. My conscience demands that I speak out and put loyalty to the country and democracy before the great affection and loyalty to the president and those around him,” said Congressman Peters in the face of polls showing a drop in voting intention for Biden.
The New York Times and the website revealed that Biden’s presidential campaign had begun launching a private poll to assess the strength of Vice President Kamala Harris in a hypothetical race against Trump.
But Biden also said he would only drop out if his immediate team showed him polls showing he had no chance of beating Trump. Despite assessments from lawmakers, the president said no one is saying he no longer has a chance.
Biden defended his record, including the passage on Capitol Hill of three initiatives to boost the economy: the US Rescue Plan ($1.9 trillion), the Bipartisan Infrastructure Plan ($1.2 trillion) and the Inflation Reduction Plan for $484 billion.
“Most presidential historians credit me with accomplishing more than any president since (Lyndon B) Johnson (in the 1960s)… I realized that my long time in the Senate had equipped me with wisdom about how to deal with Congress,” Biden concluded.
According to anonymous sources from NBC, outside of President Biden’s inner circle of advisers, the mood among advisers and even members of the campaign is one of pessimism, given what they considered to be lasting consequences of the performance during the presidential debate.
#Biden #feels #historic #duty #continue #fighting
