MILWAUKEE: President Joe Biden’s reelection bid was mired in fresh turmoil after reports that top Democratic leaders had privately pushed him to end his campaign, while Donald Trump was set to accept the Republican presidential nomination on Thursday.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have all expressed deep concerns directly to Biden in recent days that he will not only lose the White House but also cost the party any chance of winning back the US House of Representatives in the Nov. 5 election, according to reports in multiple news outlets.
Biden, 81, has thus far refused to entertain public calls from 20 congressional Democrats to step aside, following a halting performance at his June 27 debate against Trump, 78.
His troubles were compounded on Wednesday when he tested positive for COVID-19 during a campaign visit to Nevada, forcing him to return to his Delaware home to work in isolation.
Democratic US Senator John Hickenlooper said in an interview that Biden was working towards a decision about his re-election.
“Joe Biden has always put the country first. He’s done what’s best for America... I think he’ll keep doing so,” Hickenlooper said, while declining to say whether he believed Biden should step aside as a candidate.
Meanwhile, Trump will cap the four-day Republican National Convention in Milwaukee with his first public address since he survived an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania on Saturday, in which a bullet grazed his ear.
Campaign staffers say the experience has prompted him to revise his acceptance speech to emphasize inclusiveness, rather than attacks on Biden’s Democrats.
Viewers “may see a bit of a different version of Trump tonight, perhaps a softer version,” Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump said on CBS on Thursday.
“I don’t think you can go through what he went through on Saturday, really a near-death experience, and not come out on the other side impacted,” said Lara Trump, who serves as Republican National Committee co-chair.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.