They continue the pressure on President Joe Biden to renounce, and also quickly, to his candidacy for the White House in view of the elections of November 5th. There are more and more people, from Washington to New York to Hollywood, who think that his state of health does not allow him to continue another four years of his presidential mandate. And while the parliamentarians clamor and the donors file away, Biden repeats far and wide that he will not give up, that “he will resist”, that “he is the only one capable of defeating Trump”. Peremptory declarations aimed at reassuring both democratic parliamentarians and the electorate, but which to date, according to the negative polls conducted in swing states, are not working at all: “Trump's current numbers among black and Hispanic voters are incompatible with any plausible victory for the Democrats,” reports the Cook Political Report. An ABC-Ipsos Washington Post poll also shows that two-thirds of Americans, including the majority of Joe Biden's supporters, believe the president should withdraw from the race for the White House after his disastrous debate performance. In details 67% believe he should take a step back and more than 85% consider him too old for a second term.
Biden: truth press conference on Thursday
And on the evening of Thursday 11 July, another decisive appointment awaits the president: the press conference for the commemoration of the anniversary of NATO scheduled for 18.30 pm local time (00.30 pm Italian time). As happened during the disastrous presidential debate on June 27, Biden will not have a teleprompter. You will have to do everything yourself and you will have to do it well. Because every word, every gesture, every look will be analyzed in detail. He must appear confident and lucid, his voice must be firm and clear, his attitude must be decisive. There will be no room for any uncertainty. And even if he managed to manage the press conference in the best way, it still might not be enough. Because the pressures are increasingly stronger and the doubts, which were previously reported only in the form of rumors, are now expressed in broad daylight without any hesitation. Doubts that would also involve the leaders currently present in Washington for the NATO summit. “There was no mention of Biden's health” during the meeting with the Allies, the official sources say, but behind the scenes, those in the know swear, there would have been no other topic than this, with the possible withdrawal of the president from the race at the White House at the center of the unofficial agenda. Some, to get ahead, would even have met close associates of Trump, says the Courier, convinced that there are no longer any obstacles standing between the tycoon and victory.
Biden resists, but the pressure increases from Pelosi to Clooney
“I'm not retiring. I beat Trump and I will do it again.", Biden said during an interview with the journalist George Stephanopoulos of ABC. It's a shame that a few days later the same interviewer, answering a question, candidly admitted "I don't think he can handle another four years". All promptly recorded and published a video about tmz.
In the meantime they continue the defections of the party's financiers. First Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings, then Abigal Disney, heir to the entertainment giant's assets. Last Friday yet another blow: a letter from 168 financiers, including the Walmart warehouse heiress Christy Walton, gathered in the Leadership Now Project, who asked the current president to step back.
On Wednesday, an interview with Nancy Pelosi and a comment from star George Clooney. The former White House speaker, responding to questions from journalists who asked her if she supported Biden's candidacy, stated that she supported him "whatever she decides to do". An answer too vague not to end up in the spotlight.
At the same time, on the columns of New York Times, a comment was published by George Clooney, a friend of the president and staunch Democratic donor, in which the actor asked Biden to take a step back: “He cannot win his battle against time. None of us can,” he wrote, adding that “It is very painful to say, but the person I was with at a campaign event three weeks ago was not the same Joe Biden of 2010. He was not the Joe Biden of 2020, he was the one who we all saw it at the debate.”
Also on Wednesday 10 July came the first public position from a Democratic senator. Peter Welch, Senator from Vermont, he has in fact come out into the open, asking the president to withdraw. Citing negative polls in Arizona, Georgia, Minnesota, Nevada and New Hampshire, he told the The Washington Post: “I deeply respect Biden” for saving us from Donald Trump, but “for the good of the country he must withdraw."
(Last update: 15.04pm on 11 July).
