Now Biden explains the debate debacle "Almost fell asleep on stage"
A Democratic congressman from Texas is forging ahead and calling on Joe Biden to withdraw during the election campaign. Is support for the US president also crumbling within his own ranks?
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- After Joe Biden's disastrous performance in the televised debate against his rival Donald Trump, the pressure on the US President is also growing within his own ranks.
- A first Democratic member of the US House of Representatives publicly called on Biden to drop out of the presidential race and make way for another candidate.
- Other critics could follow.
- Biden himself claims to have identified the reason for his botched performance in the TV duel: Tiredness after a series of exhausting trips abroad.
After Joe Biden's disastrous performance in the TV debate against his rival Donald Trump, the pressure on the US President is also growing in his own ranks. A first Democratic member of the US House of Representatives publicly called on Biden to drop out of the race for the presidency and make way for another candidate. Other critics could follow. Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi has also spoken out.
Biden himself claims to have identified the reason for his botched performance in the TV duel against challenger Donald Trump: Tiredness. The 81-year-old explained his weak performance with exhaustion after a series of strenuous trips abroad. During a campaign appearance in the US state of Virginia, he said, according to journalists traveling with him, that he had actually traveled around the world several times shortly before the TV debate, which was "not very smart". He had not listened to his staff - "and then I almost fell asleep on stage". That is not an excuse, but it is an explanation.
Biden's schedule actually included two major trips abroad last month. First, he attended a commemoration of the Allied landings in Normandy, France, at the beginning of June. Immediately afterwards, Biden made a state visit to Paris, where he was received by the French President with an extensive program. He then flew back to the USA - only to travel back to Italy for the G7 summit just a few days later in mid-June. From there, it was back across nine time zones to the US West Coast, where he attended an exclusive fundraising gala for his election campaign in Los Angeles.
White House goes on the offensive
On June 17, Biden received NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Washington. From June 20, he finally stayed at Camp David - the US President's country residence near the capital. There, Biden and his team prepared for the debate and did not make any public appointments for around a week.
The White House also endeavored to dispel doubts about Biden's suitability for the office and to make up for his botched appearance on television as best they could. The president had just had a bad evening, emphasized White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre at a press conference. "We will turn over a new leaf," she said. Biden will convince the people in the USA of his qualities himself during local visits.
In the coming days, Biden will also meet with Democratic members of Congress and governors, Jean-Pierre announced. A television interview, campaign appearances and a press conference at the NATO summit in Washington next week are also planned. Biden himself was in high spirits and self-confident at an appointment in Washington. As usual, he read his speech from a teleprompter.
Congressman "respectfully" calls on Biden to withdraw
In recent days, the most well-known faces of the party had held back with harsh public criticism. Lloyd Doggett, Democratic member of the US House of Representatives from Texas, has now become the first member of parliament from Biden's party to publicly call for his withdrawal.
It was not easy for him to make his reservations public, Doggett wrote in a statement quoted by the US media. Unlike Trump, Biden had always served the interests of the country and not his own. He hopes the president will make the difficult and painful decision to step down, Doggett said. "I respectfully urge him to do so."
According to the portal "Axios", major donors to the Democrats want to change their strategy ahead of the vote in November, which will also decide on the redistribution of many seats in the House of Representatives and Senate, in view of Biden's dwindling hopes of winning the election. Accordingly, they now want to focus their support more on Democratic candidates for Congress in order to secure majorities there so that Trump cannot rule unhindered in the event of an election victory.
Pelosi: Question after slip-up "justified"
Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, defended Biden and attested to his "judgment and strategic thinking" in an interview with US broadcaster MSNBC.
When asked, the Democrat also said that it was a "legitimate question" whether Biden's slip-up in the TV duel was "just an episode or a condition". However, both candidates should be subjected to equal critical scrutiny in terms of their suitability for the presidency. Pelosi emphasized that it was difficult to debate with Trump, as the Republican former president was constantly lying.
Obstructor Manchin probably threatened a public rupture
According to a report in the "Washington Post", Senator Joe Manchin threatened to publicly break with Biden immediately after the TV duel. Manchin, who is known as an obstructionist, recently turned his back on the Democrats, but as an independent senator he continues to vote with his former party on many issues.
According to the report, Manchin changed his confrontational course at the urging of the Democratic minority leader in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, among others. The newspaper quoted an unnamed representative of the Democratic Party as saying: "Nobody wants to be the first to stab Julius Caesar."
Meeting with governors on the agenda
The US broadcaster CBS reported that Biden will meet with Democratic governors of various states today, Wednesday, in order to secure their support. The broadcaster CNN had previously reported, citing people familiar with the situation, that several governors had spoken to each other on the phone at the beginning of the week to arrange such a meeting.
According to a report in the "Washington Post", there is to be another crisis meeting today: White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients wants to hold a conference call with all of the president's staff, it said. The aim is to emphasize how important it is to continue the work despite the headwinds. Biden's team at government headquarters, which normally does not interfere in election campaign matters, is also likely to have been affected by the past few days.
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