Biden planning ‘major announcement’ about his future as Obama says he must ‘seriously consider stepping down’
19 July 2024, 12:46
Joe Biden is planning a ‘major announcement’ about his future, possibly as soon as this weekend, according to US reports.
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Senior Democrats believe the US President is ‘more isolated than he has even been’, CNN reports.
Many of them believe he must abandon his campaign for a second term in office and must do so 'soon'.
“The next 72 hours are big”, one Democratic governor said recently, adding: “This can’t go on much longer.”
As a result, Mr Biden is reportedly considering a major announcement, possibly on Sunday, about his future, The Hill reports.
This may depend on how quickly he recovers from his current bout with Covid.
It follows reports that Barack Obama has told friends his former Vice President must ‘seriously consider stepping down’.
He joins other senior Democrats who have expressed concerns about Mr Biden’s ability to run for the Presidency once again, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Mr Biden has been under pressure following his disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump last month, in which he repeatedly froze and struggled to finish his sentences.
Since then, the President has committed a series of gaffe, including when he confused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with Vladimir Putin at last week's Nato summit.
He also confused his Vice President Kamala Harris with Mr Trump just moments later.
Most recently, he seemingly forgot the name of his Defence Secretary - Lloyd Austin - so referred to him as the 'black man'.
Mr Biden has spent weeks insisting he will remain in the race, but he is reportedly more 'receptive' to the idea that he may have to step down following new polling.
Read More: Hulk Hogan tears off shirt on stage at Republican national convention as he declares 'Trumpmania'
He is currently trailing Mr Trump in a number of key swing states, which will define November's election result, including Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Michigan.
Democrats also privately believe Mr Trump will get a bounce in the polls after he survived an assassination attempt over the weekend.
The former US President was just inches away from losing his life as a bullet scraped past his ear at a really in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday.
Ex-US diplomat thinks Joe Biden can 'no longer hang on'
Mr Trump was formally nominated as the Republican Presidential nominee on Thursday evening, where he gave an emotional reflection on the attempt on his life.
"I'm not supposed to be here," Trump told his supporters at the Republican convention on Thursday.
"The discord and division in our society must be healed. As Americans, we are bound together by a single fate and a shared destiny. We rise together. Or we fall apart," he said.
"I am running to be president for all of America, not half of America, because there is no victory in winning for half of America."
