US President Joe Biden, who is seeking re-election, is in hot waters after his dismal appearance in the first presidential debate against Republican challenger Donald Trump. Now, a report in the New York Times suggests that Biden is weighing whether to continue in the race if he fails to convince the public that he is up for the top job.
According to the report, Biden told a key ally that he knows he may not be able to salvage his candidacy if his next few public appearances do not go well. However, the ally emphasised that Biden is still deeply in the fight for re-election.
Biden’s upcoming appearances include an interview scheduled for Friday with George Stephanopoulos of ABC News and campaign stops in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
“He knows if he has two more events like that, we’re in a different place (by the end of the weekend),” the ally said, as quoted by the New York Times.
However, the White House denied the claims in the article. Andrew Bates, a White House spokesman, said the claims in the article were “absolutely false”.
Biden’s verbal stumbles and occasionally meandering responses in the June 27 debate with Trump heightened voter concerns that he might not be fit to serve another four-year term.
According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, one in three Democrats think Biden should end his re-election bid following last week’s debate against Trump. However, no prominent elected Democrat does any better than Biden in a hypothetical matchup against Trump, the poll suggests.