President Joe Biden says he is thinking of stepping down as presidential nominee and he may do so as early as next week.He told his aides that he may do so depending on what happens during his next three appearances.
He meant his appearance on television for an interview and campaign stops in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.
But he seemed determined to run when he was subsequently interviewed on ABC News on July 5. “If the Lord Almighty came down and said, ‘Joe, get outta the race,’ I’d get outta the race. [But] The Lord Almighty’s not comin’ down,” he said.
However, insiders say he knows he can’t afford another poor performance like his disastrous debate with his Republican rival, Donald Trump.
“He knows if he has two more events like that [the debate] we’re in a different place,” said a source close to him. The White House continues to deny claims by the New York Times that Biden has an exit plan.
His family, namely his wife Jill and son Hunter Biden, have been pushing him the hardest to remain in the White House.
What Biden knows
However, it’s said, Biden knows if things don’t go well in the next few days, he would have to stand down in favour of a younger Democrat who can take on Donald Trump.
Unfazed, though, on July 3, he reassured campaign staff and Democrat governors that he was not going anywhere.
His exact words were: “Let me say this as clearly as I possibly can as simply and straightforward as I can; I am running – no one is pushing me out.
“I’m not leaving. I’m in this race to the end and we’re going to win. If the New York Times had provided us with more than 7 minutes to comment, we would have told them so,” he said.
White House, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania
Biden hosted the annual Independence Day party at the White House on July 4 and travelled to Madison, Wisconsin, the next day for the ABC News post-debate interview.
Pennsylvania is next on his itinerary. Both Pennsylvania and Wisconsin are swing states that will make a huge difference to the 2024 results.
On July 3, at the White House gathering with the Democratic governors, Biden said that he plans to stop scheduling events after 8 p.m. so that he can get more sleep.
The President also made a crazy joke at the event that didn’t go down well with the governors: “I’m fine—I don’t know about my brain, though.”
His campaign chairwoman, Jen O’Malley Dillon, then had to quickly jump in and say he was clearly making a joke. “All kidding aside”.
Biden’s campaign spokesperson Kevin Munoz said, “President (George W.) Bush went to bed at 9, and President (Barack) Obama made dinner at 6.30. Normal presidents strike a balance and so does Joe Biden. Hardly the same rigour as Donald Trump who spends half of his day ranting on Truth Social about plans that would cause a recession and the other half golfing.”
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