At a rally organized in North Carolina – after the defeat at CNN – the US president Joe Biden he admits his difficulties but announces that he has no intention of withdrawing from the race. In contrast, the House Republican leader invokes the 25th Amendment to remove it. Dems looking for a plan B: eyes on governor of Michigan and on that of the California (but not only), however the dream is to see Michelle Obama in the field. Meanwhile, also the New York Times asks Biden to take a step back: “You are no longer up to par, for the good of your country you leave” the White House.
Biden isn't giving up, that's why
Joe Biden, therefore, is not giving up. In the aftermath of disastrous television debate with Donald Trump which triggered panic in the Democratic establishment, the US president returns to speak in public during an electoral appointment in North Carolina. And he confirms that he wants to stay in the running. “I don't walk with the ease of the past, I don't speak or debate with the ease of the past, but I know what I'm doing” and “I know how to do this job”, claimed Biden who appeared much livelier and fitter than to the dull television duel the other night. “I wouldn't run again if I didn't believe with all my heart and soul that I could do this job, the stakes are too high,” “I intend to win this election,” Biden added in front of hundreds of supporters. The US president attacked his opponent head-on: “Did you see Trump last night? It's honestly a new record for the most lies told in a single debate,” Biden told an enthusiastic crowd that began chanting, 'Four more years.'
The occupant of the White House challenged Trump and his 'lies' about the economy, the pandemic and the assault on Capitol Hill on January 6, calling the tycoon "a wave of individual crime" and adding: "The what worries me most about him is that he has no respect for women or women.” Biden also dusted off the strong points of his presidency, from the right to abortion to the defense of Medicare and social security, and added, referring to yesterday's match on TV: "I know how to do this job, I know how to complete the things. And I know, as millions of Americans know, that when you get knocked down, you get back up."
From Michelle Obama to Gavin Newsom: who instead of Joe Biden?
The concern of the Dem world, beyond Biden's words, remains and indeed increases. Several editorialists, especially from the liberal press, advise Biden to take a step back and the Democratic leadership does not hide its growing anxiety. But during these frenetic hours, full support arrives for Biden Barack Obama, whose wife Michelle she has often been indicated as a possible alternative for the race for the White House to replace Biden himself. “Bad debate evenings happen, I know something about it – writes the former US president who seems to definitively clear the field of the Michelle hypothesis – but “this election still represents a choice between those who have fought for ordinary people all their lives and those who only care about themselves. Between someone who tells the truth, who knows right from wrong, and someone who openly lies for their own benefit. Last night the situation did not change – concludes Obama – and this is why the stakes are so high in November”.
However, it must be said that Michelle Obama remains the dream that has been talked about for five years now. The former first lady, in fact, is considered in pole position to replace Biden but the person concerned has already made it known that she is not interested and therefore has no presidential ambitions. A tactic? It is true that it would not be at all obvious that with Michelle on the field, her race for the White House could appear to be a smooth road: as more than one commentator points out, the Obama family has already alienated important sectors of the Democratic left after, in 2016, , decided to provide his own endorsement to Hillary Clinton rather than Bernie Sanders. Trump won.
Other names in the field? Here they are. Gavin Newsom, governor of California, leads the most populous state in the United States, enjoys a fair amount of fame at a national level and is young. But he too has denied interest in running for the White House. Of course there is Kamala Harris, current vice of Biden and, on paper, natural replacement. But this is a figure who, despite the promising initial lines, later proved to be unpopular and politically impalpable. And again: there are those who say that if Democrats really believe that Trump represents an existential threat to American democracy, then both Biden and Harris should step aside. In that case the emergency solution would be Gretchen Whitmer, popular governor of Michigan, in ticket with Josh Shapiro, governor of Pennsylvania. Other candidates circulating in the media: Sherrod Brown, senator ofOhio, and Gina Raymond, current Secretary of Commerce. We will see.
The NYT also calls on Biden to withdraw
Il New York Times asks a step back from Joe Biden in the race for reconfirmation to the White House after the first live TV face-to-face meeting between the American president and former president Donald Trump in view of the November elections. The 81-year-old Biden “has said he is the candidate with the best chance of confronting this threat of tyranny and defeating it. Her argument is largely based on the fact that she beat Trump in 2020 – we read in the editorial board's contribution entitled “To serve his country, President Biden should leave the race” – This is no longer a good enough reason why Biden should be this year’s Democratic nominee.”
Thursday evening the president "he struggled to explain what he would have achieved in a second mandate - continues the editorial relaunched by the American media in the midst of the debate opened by the face-to-face meeting two days ago - He struggled to respond to Trump's provocations. He struggled to hold Trump accountable for his lies, his failures and his chilling plans. More than once he struggled to get to the end of a sentence." And “there is no reason for the party to risk the stability and security of the country by forcing voters to choose between Trump's shortcomings and Biden's“. Thus, according to the News, suspending the campaign would be “the best service Biden can do to a country he has served nobly for so long.” A very harsh stance that Biden does not intend to listen to at the moment.
