President Joe Biden said in an interview to air Wednesday that he would be prepared to withdraw from the race if health problems arose or if his doctor told him to pull out.
“If some kind of health issue came up and someone, a doctor came to me and said, 'You have this problem, you have that problem,'” Biden said in response to a question from BET's Ed Gordon about whether there would be any reason for him to decide to drop out.
Biden also addressed his earlier pledge to be a bridge candidate.
“When I first ran, as you all remember, I thought I was going to be an interim candidate and I could get out of this situation and hand it over to somebody else, but I didn't expect the situation to become so divided. And quite frankly, I think the only thing you get with age is a little bit of wisdom,” he told Gordon. “I think I've shown that I know how to get things done for our country. I've been told we can't, but there's still work to be done and I'm reluctant to give that up,” he concluded.
More recently, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., a former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, publicly called on Biden to withdraw from the race, arguing it is time for Biden to “pass the baton.” statement In the Los Angeles Times.
Schiff is 20th Democratic lawmakers call for Biden to resign.
Biden's performance in the June 27 debate quickly led his media allies, who had previously fervently defended him, to question his viability.
Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, was the first House Democrat to publicly call for Biden to resign on July 2. Others quickly followed suit, and reports emerged that other prominent House Democrats, including Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York, also wanted Biden to resign.
Biden has tried every possible means to calm his supporters' fears, including media appearances and conference calls, but it doesn't seem to be putting out the fire.
His first extended interview after the debate, with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos, failed to stop the bleeding when a fifth Democrat, Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota, called on him to drop out of the race, citing his performance in the interview and debate.
Biden also reportedly performed poorly on a conference call with the House Progressive Caucus on Saturday, with the president reportedly losing his train of thought multiple times during the Zoom call.
“The call was even worse than the debate. He was incoherent, he started to answer but couldn't think straight and just said 'I don't care.' He really couldn't finish his answer. “All respect for him has disappeared,” said one person on the call. Said New York Post.
