Joe Biden stays defiant while Kamala Harris edges up in surveys

Joe Biden battles gaffes amid sharp calls to quit among Democrats

By Manish Anand

New Delhi, July 12: The US President, Joe Biden, held a long presser to assert his candidature in presidential poll on Thursday evening. Biden’s harrowing gaffes once more overshadowed his foreign policy strength.

Biden concluded the press conference, billed to undo the damage to his candidature after the first debate with his Republican rival Donald Trump, by asserting that he will stay in the race to win the election.

At the NATO Summit, Biden had mixed up Russian and Ukrainian Presidents, Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Biden had called President Putin, while he apparently meant it to be Zelenskyy.

Also Read: China decisive enabler of Russia’s war against Ukraine: NATO 

His gaffe bout extended to the latest presser where he called his deputy “Vice President Putin”. “I certainly would not have picked Vice President Putin if she was not qualified to be President,” said Biden, while responding on the capability of his deputy Kamala Harris.

The last question put to Biden dealt with his mental health issues. “Trump is going all around with gaffe of calling your deputy as Vice President Putin. If advised, will you step aside for Harris,” asked a reporter.

“I am going to win the presidential election,” said Biden. He asserted that Democrats will the election under his leadership.

Jim Himes, a senior ranking Democrat, joined a growing list of party leaders, asking for Biden to step aside. “Joe Biden’s record of public service is unrivalled. His accomplishments are immense. His legacy as a great president is secure,” Himes noted in his long post on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

Also Read: Modi in Russia spotlights India’s fine balance in geopolitics 

Himes asked Biden to step aside from the presidential election. “He must not risk that legacy, those accomplishments and American democracy to soldier on in the face of the horrors promised by Donald Trump,” added Himes.

ABC News poll survey is showing Harris leading against Trump with two percentages, 49 per cent against 47 per cent. In surveys for Biden versus Trump, both are shown to be tied at 46 per cent each.

Biden, however, asserted that he is ready for a neurological check if doctors advise him. But his gaffes on Thursday presser failed to undo the damage done in the debate with Trump, as calls to quit the race are becoming louder.

CNN claimed that former President Barack Obama and the ex-House Speaker of the Congress, Nancy Pelosi, have spoken to each other on Biden’s suitability to contest. The broadcaster has claimed that both the Democratic veterans are concerned.

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About The Author

Manish Anand

Manish Anand is a senior journalist with more than two decades of hardcore reporting on beats such as Prime Minister’s Office, Parliament, BJP, Congress, Planning Commission, NITI Aayog, and scores of Union Ministries.

His past has been with The New Indian Express, The Asian Age/Deccan Chronicle, and The Statesman.

For about 15 years, Manish was also a regular commentator and host for talks on AIR on foreign affairs.

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