A senior White House official who has worked with Biden since he was vice president has reportedly joined a growing chorus of calls for Biden not to run for reelection.
The unnamed official said he worked with the 81-year-old Biden during his time as vice president, on the 2020 campaign and throughout his presidency. The New York Times Observing him in private and on trips together makes it clear that the Democrat does not have what it takes to defeat Donald Trump.
The official concluded that Biden has appeared fatigued in public in recent months, spoke more slowly and shown increasingly noticeable signs of aging.
Since Biden’s debate performance late last month, he has been rocked by a storm of uncertainty among Democrats over whether he should retain his top spot in the Nov. 5 election.
Biden attempted to address many of those concerns in an interview with ABC News on Friday, but ultimately ended up losing even more supporters from his party.
“It was a bad episode. I had no signs of anything serious. I was just exhausted,” Biden told host George Stephanopoulos in an interview that aired last Friday.
His comments came just over a week after the debate caused uproar among Democrats and sparked a national debate about his fitness to be president.
During the debate, Biden froze at times, mumbled his questions, appeared to lose his train of thought and gave seemingly incoherent answers.
Biden I have taken a firm stance He said he would “continue to campaign” and claimed only “God Almighty” could convince him to withdraw.
When confronted with consternation about his age, Biden pointed to his accomplishments in office as evidence he is cognitively capable of serving another term.
If he wins in November and serves out his term, he will be 86 when he leaves office, already making him the oldest serving president in US history.
Biden is expected to be named the party’s presidential nominee in the coming weeks ahead of the Democratic National Convention in a bid to ensure voting access in all 50 states.
What to know about the impact of President Biden’s debate performance:
For months, he has held the delegate count needed to win the nomination.
So far, at least six current members of Congress have publicly called on Biden to consider resigning: Reps. Angie Craig (D-Minn.), Mike Quigley (D-Ill.), Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), Raul Grijalva (D-Arizona) and Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas).
More and more people are doing so anonymously and privately.
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner (D-Va.) has called on Senate Democrats to sign a letter urging Biden to withdraw. The Washington Post reported..
A Biden spokesman did not deny the move, and Biden also dismissed it in an interview with ABC on Friday.
Additionally, prominent Democrats such as James Carville have also called for him to step down.
Government officials also Reported to reporters The president appears to be considering holding an unusual news conference this week to try to ease concerns about his cognitive condition.
Biden: Held the fewest press conferences of recent presidents.
The Washington Post has reached out to the White House for comment.
