Janice R. Andrews
This weekend, in an attempt to revitalize his reelection campaign, President Joe Biden is getting down with top political aides to arrange a return on the campaign trail. This action is taken in spite of growing calls for resignation from fellow Democrats. Since Biden started a home quarantine at his Delaware beach house on Wednesday after testing positive for the coronavirus, these appeals have become more urgent.
Approximately thirty-six Democratic politicians, including longstanding ally Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio, are encouraging Biden to halt his candidacy. According to a statement released on Friday, Brown “thinks the President should end his campaign.” He maintained that campaign subjects like abortion rights and jobs “must return” to get “our full attention.”
Those closest to the president claim that his stance has only become more resolute in recent days, despite the pleading of some of the most powerful members of his party. This hasn’t done much to dispel whispers about a potential announcement over the weekend in Washington or the notion that Biden’s reelection campaign is in serious trouble, even among his closest supporters.
In the midst of speculation that the campaign was almost over, Biden released a statement pledging to rejoin the fray the following week. Top Democratic funders were convinced by Vice President Kamala Harris that the president still had a chance to win. In a rare television interview, campaign chairwoman Jennifer O’Malley Dillon declared that Biden was “more committed than ever.”
Ahead of Netanyahu’s high-stakes meeting with the president early this week, advisors to the president were getting ready at the White House for his speech to a joint session of Congress. According to a White House official, Biden called recently reelected European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to reiterate their commitment to a robust US-EU relationship while in Rehoboth Beach on Saturday. He was also informed on Middle East developments by a senior security assistant.
Presidential physician Kevin O’Connor provided an update on Saturday, stating that Biden’s Covid symptoms “continue to improve steadily” and he is carrying out all of his responsibilities. However, the question of whether the president genuinely thinks he can withstand the extraordinary and relentless campaign by other Democrats to drive him from the top spot on the 2024 ticket looms over Biden’s attempts to convey a sense of normalcy.
The 81-year-old president’s obedient performance of his presidential duties hasn’t done much to allay Democratic worries about his suitability for a second four-year term. There’s also the worry that Donald Trump could defeat him before that term even starts. Along with Brown, other well-known politicians have joined the calls for Biden to resign, including Senator Jon Tester of Montana and Representative Adam Schiff of California, whose reelection is essential to the Democratic Party’s hopes of holding the upper chamber.
The latest Democrat to leave the party was Representative Mark Takano of California, who stated that Biden need to make room for his vice president on Saturday. Joe, you have my respect and affection. However, Takano stated in a statement that “the stakes are too high to fail.” “It’s time to give Kamala the reins.”
According to a number of news sources, Biden has reportedly been urged to withdraw from the race by Democratic congressional leaders such as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who have cautioned him about the impact of his candidacy on races further down the ballot. In Congress, where Biden’s party holds 213 seats in the House of Representatives and 51 in the Senate, the dissenters collectively represent more than one in ten Democrats.
Legislators’ concerns stem in part from a larger concern: that Republicans would win big on November 5th and seize control of both the White House and the Congress’s two chambers. Democrats’ capacity to thwart Trump’s expansive conservative initiatives may be limited by such a setback.
In a statement released on Friday, Biden reaffirmed his belief that he was the strongest defense against this kind of situation. The statement he released on Friday made reference to a broad range of policy recommendations created by conservative corners of Washington. “I look forward to getting back on the campaign trail next week to continue exposing the threat of Donald Trump’s Project 2025 agenda while making the case for my own record and the vision that I have for America,” he said.
In addition, his campaign kept up its momentum by announcing high-profile fundraisers for the upcoming weeks, including as a comedy show with David Letterman that will take place on Martha’s Vineyard later this month. Spokesman Kevin Munoz stated in a statement that Biden is aware of “the stakes of this election are high” and that “there are a lot of days between now and Election Day.”
The pictures from the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, when former foes of the party came together to support Trump after he accepted the official Republican nomination for president, stand in sharp contrast to the division among Democrats today. Alongside his newly appointed running mate, JD Vance, the former president is anticipated to hold his first rally on Saturday night in the battleground state of Michigan following a failed assassination attempt last weekend. Over the course of the next week, Trump has scheduled appearances in North Carolina and at a Bitcoin conference in Tennessee; in addition, the Ohio senator has scheduled rallies in both Virginia and his own state.
