Joe Biden’s re-election campaign controversy Democratic Party President Joe Biden’s recent Friday night TV interview has done little to quell an uprising within his own party regarding his re-election campaign, following a halting debate performance against Donald Trump. On Saturday, a fifth House Democrat, Angie Craig of Minnesota, joined her colleagues in calling for the president to step aside, with more potentially following suit.
In his rare prime-time ABC News interview, Biden dismissed his debate performance as merely a “bad episode” and insisted that only the “Lord Almighty” could convince him to end his bid for re-election. The 81-year-old president is spending the weekend at his family home in Delaware before attending two public events on Sunday.
There is growing unease among Democrats, although no senior party members have called for him to quit. Some polls show Trump’s lead over Biden widening, raising concerns about losing the presidency, House seats, and the Senate majority if Biden leads the ticket. Angie Craig, running in a competitive district in Minnesota, expressed doubt that Biden could “effectively campaign and win against Donald Trump,” despite respecting his decades of service. She emphasized the stakes of risking a second Trump presidency.
Minutes after the ABC News interview, Texas Congressman Lloyd Doggett, the first House Democrat to call for Biden to drop out, reiterated on CNN that the need for Biden to step down is “more urgent tonight than when I first called for it.” He argued that the longer Biden takes to withdraw, the “more difficult it will be for a new person to come on board who can defeat Donald Trump.” Other House Democrats, including Mike Quigley of Illinois and Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, echoed this sentiment, joining Arizona’s Raúl Grijalva in calling for Biden to withdraw.
During the interview, Biden declined to take a cognitive test to prove his fitness for another term, stating, “I have a cognitive test every single day. Everything I do is a test.” This response did not sit well with Democratic Congresswoman Judy Chu of California, who described his answer as “unsettling and not particularly convincing.”
Despite this, Biden firmly rejected suggestions that allies may ask him to stand aside, declaring, “it’s not going to happen.” He also asserted, “I don’t think anybody’s more qualified to be president or win this race than me.” Biden thanked Vice-President Kamala Harris for her support during the ABC News interview, acknowledging her as a top contender to replace him if necessary.
In an interview at the Essence black culture festival in New Orleans, Harris highlighted the importance of November’s election to American democracy but did not address the Democratic disquiet about Biden. She emphasized the power voters have in shaping the country’s future and criticized Trump’s admiration of dictators.
Harris’s presence at various events, including the White House 4th of July celebration and meetings with governors and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, underscores her balancing act of supporting Biden while proving her capability for the presidency. However, some Democrats have expressed concerns about Harris’s candidacy, citing her early struggles with immigration, student debt, and voting rights issues. Nevertheless, her focus on abortion rights has seen her approval ratings improve recently, with Democrats considering this a crucial issue for the upcoming election.
As the Democratic party navigates this internal controversy, the question remains: What’s next for Joe Biden’s re-election campaign and the party’s future in the 2024 election?
