Uncertainty regarding President Joe Biden’s nomination continues despite the relative calm that transpired in the wake of the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
Following Biden’s disastrous debate performance that led to concerns about the state of his mental health, the Democratic National Committee had reportedly considered formally nominating Biden during a virtual meeting on July 21, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
However, those plans have been pushed back by at least two weeks as calls continue for Biden to step down and reports circulate that he has become more receptive to considering such a move.
“He’s being receptive. Not as defiant as he is publicly,” a senior Democratic advisor told CNN. “It’s still unclear where he’s going to land, but seems to be listening.”
In an interview released on Wednesday, the 81-year-old president indicated he would consider stepping down if his health warranted it.
“If I had some medical condition that emerged, if somebody, if doctors came to me and said, you got this problem and that problem,” Biden told Ed Gordon of BET News when asked if anything would cause him to reconsider his decision to stay in the race.
The statement opens the door for a face-saving option for Biden to withdraw based on the announcement of a diagnosis, such as a degenerative neurological disorder like Parkinson’s, which the president has been rumored to have.
The news comes in the wake of more calls from senior Democratic leaders for Biden to step down.
ABC News reported Wednesday that Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) told Biden in a private meeting that it would be best for him to withdraw from the race.
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) also called on Biden to step down on Wednesday.
“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,” he explained.
More bad news came on Wednesday when campaign co-chair Jeffrey Katzenberg reportedly told Biden that donors were withholding funds over concerns about his age, reported Deadline.
Making matters worse, a new poll released Wednesday shows that nearly two-thirds of Democrats want Biden to drop out of the race, contrary to his repeated claims that “the average Democrat … still want[s] me to be the nominee.”
NBC News reports on the DNC’s precarious plans to virtually nominate Biden ahead of the national convention, which starts on August 19. Here’s the start of the story:
Democrats plan to formally renominate President Joe Biden in a virtual roll call vote during the first week of August, before the party’s national convention, despite protests from some Democrats who want more time for the party to consider alternative nominees.
The plan was formally announced in a letter to Democratic National Committee members sent Wednesday morning, which comes after weeks of internal struggle about whether to stick with Biden after a weak debate performance.
Parties typically nominate their presidential standard bearers during live roll call votes at their national conventions, which are often a highlight of the events. But Democrats have been planning for the unusual pre-convention virtual roll call to avoid potential litigation in Ohio, they say.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the co-chair of the Democratic National Convention’s Rules Committee, told reporters Wednesday that the early nomination has nothing to do with Biden’s debate performance last month or doubts about his ability to defeat former President Donald Trump.
“This meeting was scheduled for many months, the one on Friday, and it was never meant to be the virtual roll call. It will be setting out the agenda as the Rules Committee moving forward,” Walz said, referring to the committee’s upcoming first meeting.
