“I'm not retiring. I beat Trump and I will do it again”. Keep repeating it over and over again Joe Biden, but between donors with increasingly closed wallets and parliamentarians and governors with increasingly restless moods, the road to confirmation is becoming increasingly narrow. And the crucial week to make a choice it could be the one that starts on Monday. The Democrats know that they cannot afford to waste any more time, the clock is ticking inexorably towards November 5, election day, and arriving unprepared at the August convention in Chicago would be suicide. Yet another.
Biden's interview with ABC: "I'm not retiring"
During the night, the US president gave an interview to the TV station ABC. “No one is more qualified for the presidency than me and to win the race” for the White House: “I am the most qualified,” Biden said, reiterating that does not intend to leave and saying he was sure he could win the elections and remain in office for another four years. In the 22-minute interview with ABC, the US president appeared more confident and incisive than before disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump, but his words still failed to sweep away the Americans' doubts.
Responding to questions from journalist George Stephanopoulos about concerns about his age and health, Biden said: “I'm in good shape. I wouldn't run if I didn't believe I could,” stressing that he undergoes routine medical checks. “They wouldn't hesitate to tell me something was wrong,” she then added. However, the president did not commit to undergoing an independent medical evaluation.
“With the presidency I do a complete neurological test every day,” he limited himself to saying, reiterating that the TV debate was a “bad episode” and “not a sign of a more serious problem”. Biden repeated that he is arrived at the confrontation exhausted and that he was unable to recover due to a bad cold. “The responsibility for how the debate went is mine alone,” he added, however pointing the finger at Trump's “pathological liar” who lied repeatedly.
The president's performance, however, has not convinced many Democrats: "I don't think it will sweep away concerns," observed David Axelrod, Barack Obama's former advisor. What was striking was the decision with which Biden completely ruled out his exit from the race: I would only do it by divine intervention.", he said, “if the Lord almighty would tell me.”
Biden: donors and parliamentarians push for a step back
The Democratic Party is split between those who want Biden to stay and those behind the scenes (at least so far) who hope for his withdrawal. The most worried, very worried, would be the MPs, who fear at worst seeing their seat evaporate, at best finding themselves surrounded by a solid Republican majority in both houses of Parliament after November 5th due to uncertainties about the health of the commander in chief. At that point the party led by Donald Trump would control the White House, Congress and the Supreme Court. A waking nightmare for any Democrat, so much so that, according to what the Washington Post, Senator Warner is reportedly trying to assemble a group of colleagues to ask him to withdraw.
But if politicians cry i donors they don't laugh. For nothing. Defections continue to increase and names carry weight. First the co-founder of Netflix Reed Hastings, then Abigal Disney, heir to the entertainment giant's assets. Yet another blow on Friday: a letter from 168 financiers including the heir to the warehouses Walmart Christy Walton, gathered in the Leadership Now Project, calling for the current president to step back.
What happens if Biden withdraws? Harris on pole
If the president ultimately decided to retire, his deputy would be in pole position Kamala Harris. Because if it is true that he has never made his way into the hearts of the democratic electorate, it is equally true that according to the latest poll of the CNN today Trump would beat Kamala Harris by just two points (47% to 45%) while with Biden the gap would have risen to four points (47% to 43%). Also nominate one African American woman in the White House it could bring important electoral groups, including young people, closer to the Democratic Party.
Trump, for his part, already has his nickname ready: “laffin' Kamala”, a reference to some of his laughs: which right-wing TV channels broadcast continuously. The Republican candidate has already begun to paint it as an extremist incapable of governing.
Added to the Harris hypothesis are those about his possible deputies: the governor of Illinois Pritzker or that of the key state of Pennsylvania Shapiro.
