Thu 18 Jul 2024

 

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Biden suggests he would step aside if ‘some medical condition’ emerged

It comes as Congressman Adam Schiff became the highest-profile Democrat yet to call for Joe Biden to withdraw from the presidential race

President Joe Biden has suggested he would reconsider running for re-election if doctors told him he had a medical issue, as a leading Democrat urged him to withdraw from the race.

In an interview with BET News, Mr Biden was asked if there was anything that would make him re-evaluate his candidacy.

“If I had some medical condition that emerged, if somebody — if doctors came to me and said you got this problem, that problem,” he responded, in a video clip released by the network.

It came after California Congressman Adam Schiff became the highest-profile Democrat yet to call for Mr Biden to drop his re-election bid, as he urged the 81-year-old to “pass the torch” to another candidate.

Mr Schiff, who is running for the Senate in November, said that Mr Biden had been “one of the most consequential presidents in our nation’s history”, and could “secure his legacy of leadership” by stepping aside.

“Our nation is at a crossroads,” he added. “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.”

FILE - Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., during a hearing at the Capitol in Washington, on June 21, 2022. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
Mr Schiff, a former chair of the House Intelligence Committee, is running for the Senate from California in the 2024 elections (Photo: J Scott Applewhite/AP)

Mr Schiff is a prominent Democrat in his own right – but the statement will be granted additional significance given his closeness to Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi.

The former House speaker has so far publicly supported her long-standing ally, but recently raised eyebrows by saying it was “up to the President” to decide whether to run — even though Mr Biden had clearly stated his intention to continue.

A nationwide poll by the AP-NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research, published on Wednesday, found that nearly two thirds of Democrats think Mr Biden should step aside and let his party nominate a different candidate.

Mr Biden has insisted that he will remain in the presidential race, despite repeated calls for him to withdraw over concerns about his mental acuity.

A poor debate performance last month was followed by a shaky Nato summit last week, where he made a series of blunders, referring to Kamala Harris as “Vice President Trump” and Volodymyr Zelensky as “President Putin”.

In another clip from the BET interview, which is airing in full on Wednesday evening, Mr Biden admitted he made a “serious mistake” in the debate but dismissed calls to stand down.

He portrayed his age as a strength, despite implying that he had originally intended to serve only one term before handing over to a younger leader.

“When I originally ran, you may remember Ed, I said I was going to be a transitional candidate, and I thought that I would be able to move from this and pass it on to someone else,” Mr Biden said.

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, left, looks on as U.S. President Joe Biden speaks, as he introduced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right, at the closing ceremony during an event on the Ukraine Compact at the NATO Summit at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, in Washington, Thursday, July 11, 2024. (Stefan Rousseau/Pool Photo via AP)
Joe Biden on stage with Nato leaders, including Keir Starmer, last left, and Volodymyr Zelensky, last right (Photo: Stefan Rousseau/AP)

“But I didn’t anticipate things getting so, so, so divided. And quite frankly, I think the only thing age brings is a little bit of wisdom.”

“I think I’ve demonstrated that I know how to get things done for the country in spite of the fact that we were told we couldn’t get it done,” he added. “But there’s more to do, and I’m reluctant to walk away from that.”

Earlier this week, the Democratic National Committee announced plans to hold a virtual roll-call vote to formally elect Mr Biden as the party’s nominee in the first week of August.

Presidential nominees usually receive their formal nomination at their party’s in-person convention, which begins on 19 August in Chicago for Democrats.

The party has expedited the process to comply with a 7 August candidate certification deadline in the state of Ohio.

The Biden campaign insists that the party must operate under Ohio’s initial rules to ensure Republican lawmakers can’t mount legal challenges to keep the President off the ballot.

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