United States (U.S.) President Joe Biden came out swinging yesterday against critics of his calamitous June debate performance, telling Democrats in an open letter and Americans in a pugnacious live TV interview he is staying in the presidential race.
This means he has rejected growing calls to concede that at 81 he is too old and ineffective to beat Donald Trump, and should drop out in favour of a younger candidate.
The president lashed out at “elites in the party” in a live telephone interview with the MSNBC show Morning Joe, saying they were behind calls for him to quit. He added: “If any of these guys don’t think I should run, run against me. Go ahead. Announce for president – challenge me at the convention!”
Touting what he said was a demanding campaign schedule around his hosting of a NATO summit this week, the president insisted: “The American public is not going to move away from me.
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“I’m here for two reasons, pal. One, to rebuild the economy for hard-working middle class people, to give everybody a shot. It’s a straight shot. Everybody gets a fair chance. Number two, people always talk about how I don’t have the wide support. Come on, give me a break. Come with me. Watch.”
Concerns about Biden’s fitness have dogged him throughout his time in office, but they exploded into open view late last month after the first of two scheduled debates with Trump.
Onstage in Atlanta on 27 June, Biden appeared hesitant, confused and physically diminished, struggles aides put down to a cold and jet lag.
In comparison, Trump spewed lies virtually unchecked by his opponent or CNN moderators working to rules that precluded instant fact checks.