US President Joe Biden has begun to accept that he may be unable to win the November 5 presidential elections and may have to drop out of the race, the New York Times reported on Thursday, citing several people close to the president.
However, Biden campaign co-chair Cedric Richmond told MSNBC that the New York Times reporting is “absolutely wrong”. “The president has said that he is running and it’s the end of story,” he said.
A source told Reuters that Biden was “soul searching” about dropping his Democratic reelection campaign. At the same time, Donald Trump prepared to accept the Republican presidential nomination in what aides said would be an unusually reflective speech.
Trump, 78, has basked all week in adulation at the Republican National convention in Milwaukee after surviving a weekend assassination attempt at a Pennsylvania rally.
Joe Biden tests COVID-19 positive
Biden, 81, was isolating at his home in Delaware after testing positive for COVID-19, while encountering increasing pressure from Democrats who were urging him to step down to avoid a major defeat. His doctor reported that he was experiencing mild symptoms.
Following this, Biden said he could drop his reelection bid if doctors found he had a medical condition. “If I had some medical condition that emerged, if somebody, if the doctors came and said ‘you’ve got this problem, that problem,” the US President said.
“A second Trump presidency will undermine the very foundation of our democracy, and I have serious concerns about whether the President can defeat Donald Trump in November,” said Representative Adam Schiff, a key ally from California.
However, he defended his decision to stay on for a rematch with Republican Donald Trump, which was scheduled for November.
Biden has been fighting for political survival since a disastrous debate against Donald Trump nearly three weeks ago, in which his tired and confused appearance sparked concerns about his age. He was set to make a fresh attempt to prop up his candidacy in a speech to crucial Latino voters in the battleground state of Nevada later Wednesday.