USA After Biden's TV interview: Doubts about eligibility persist

In a TV interview, US President Joe Biden tried to dispel the considerable doubts about his suitability as a presidential candidate - but they persist. "The president is rightly proud of his record," wrote David Axelrod, once chief strategist to former President Barack Obama, on the online platform X. "But he is dangerously out of touch with people's concerns about his abilities and his position in this race."

The interview with ABC News, which lasted just over 20 minutes, was actually intended to serve as damage limitation. While Biden tried to focus on the successes of his time in office, the journalist George Stephanopoulos did not deviate from the topic of his fundamental continued suitability. It was not about political content at all.

The oldest US president in history, at 81 years of age, reacted with a lack of understanding and said, among other things, that only God could move him to retire. Biden questioned polls showing that he had lost further support in recent days. He also refused to undergo a medical test to check his mental fitness in response to several questions from Stephanopoulos. He also refused to elaborate on what would happen if confidants warned him that his behavior would also have a negative impact on the majorities in the US Congress. Everyone would tell him to stay in the race, Biden explained.

Unease behind the scenes

In addition to the presidency, many seats in parliament will also be up for grabs in the November election. Fears are growing among Democrats that the Republicans could take control of both the White House and Congress in the future. Four Democratic members of the House of Representatives have already publicly called for Biden to withdraw from the race, while two others have made public their assessment that Biden cannot win against his Republican challenger Donald Trump.

However, doubts about the Democrat's suitability are still being voiced behind closed doors, with criticism being communicated indirectly via the US media. There are increasing numbers of statements to this effect from employees of unnamed members of Congress. These messages could become even louder in the coming days - Congress is due to meet for a week. According to reports, further dissenters are expected within the party.

Senator Mark Warner, for example, is trying to rally a group of Democrats behind him to convince Biden to drop out of the race. According to the reports, the minority leader in the House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries, is also planning a meeting tomorrow with high-ranking Democrats in his chamber to discuss the situation.

However, Biden is also receiving public support, for example from his long-time party colleague, Senator Chris Coons. He praised Biden's political performance on X and wrote: "I can't wait to help him continue the fight against Trump and win in November." Senator John Fetterman also wrote on X that the Democrats must now show backbone and added: "Joe Biden is our man."

Democratic Representative Mike Quigley, who had openly called on Biden to withdraw shortly before the interview aired, contradicted Fetterman on CNN, saying it would take backbone to "recognize that the President of the United States does not have the energy to overcome the deficit here and that this will have an impact on all of us."

Disastrous TV duel

Just over a week ago, Biden made a disastrous appearance in the first televised duel with his Republican opponent Trump, making several promises and losing the thread. This sparked a debate in the USA about whether Biden is still the right Democratic presidential candidate to defeat Trump again.

Since then, Biden has been fighting on all fronts to save his candidacy, including numerous campaign rallies. In the TV interview on ABC News, he did not have any major lapses or slip-ups, but sometimes struggled for words. According to the broadcaster, the interview was broadcast unedited.

Biden has actually already secured the presidential candidacy for his party - he is to be officially chosen at the Democratic convention, which will take place in Chicago from August 19 to 22. The US President has collected the necessary delegate votes in the primaries. He had no significant competition in the primary campaign. If he were to voluntarily throw in the towel or be forced to resign, the Democrats would have to quickly agree on a replacement as the election approaches.

SDA