WASHINGTON: As Americans celebrate the July 4 holiday with fireworks and festivities, President Joe Biden continues to face the explosive trend of his debate against Donald Trump on Thursday, leaving many Democrats open to a replacement.
The 81-year-old has struggled to rally his party since last week’s debate, but he won the support of Democratic governors who gathered with him for an emergency meeting at the White House on Wednesday.
However, a new and potentially damaging wrinkle emerged on Independence Day, when Biden told the governor he needed more sleep and planned to limit public gatherings after 8 p.m., according to the New York Times.
According to The Times, two people who attended the meeting said there was likely to be more discontent within the party over the nomination for the November election.
With polls showing Trump, a Republican, ahead of last week’s debate, Biden is under more pressure than ever to demonstrate his leadership skills.
“I had a bad night,” Biden told Wisconsin Citizen Media in a radio interview that aired Thursday.
“I’m tired,” he said. “90 minutes at this stage. Look what I have done in 3.5 years”.
The Times, citing multiple sources, told the governor that Biden was checked by a doctor after the debate because he had a cold.
White House spokesman Andrew Bates confirmed that Biden had been seen by a doctor, but spokeswoman Karine-en-Pierre differed by telling reporters on Friday that there had been no medical examination since the debate.
White said Biden’s resignation was “not from scratch.”
Biden himself has decided to stay in the race, telling the radio host: “When you’re tired, you stand up.”
In a sign of international concern about Biden’s status, Britain’s The Economist has become the leading publication to call for Biden’s resignation, joining the editorials of the New York Times and the Boston Globe.
The uncertainty comes ahead of the president’s highly anticipated televised interview with ABC News, which will be watched to see if Biden can bounce back from his controversial speech.
All will be at a Biden campaign rally on Friday in the battleground state of Wisconsin.
No holiday for Biden as debate crisis cleanup continues
