Washington
While Americans celebrated the Fourth of July holiday with fireworks and feasts, President Joe Biden continues to face the fallout from his explosive debate with Donald Trump on Thursday, leaving many Democrats yearning for a replacement.
The 81-year-old Trump has struggled to contain panic within his party since last week’s debate but on Wednesday he won the support of Democratic governors, who held an emergency meeting at the White House.
But a new, and potentially damaging, issue emerged on Independence Day after The New York Times reported that Biden told state governors they needed more sleep and would scale back public events after 8 p.m.
The revelations, which came from two participants at the meeting, according to the Times, are likely to further fuel rumors within the party about the search for a successor ahead of the November election.
With polls showing Republican Trump widening his narrow lead after last week’s debate, Biden is under more pressure than ever to demonstrate leadership.
“It was a terrible night,” Biden acknowledged in a pre-recorded radio interview with Wisconsin Civic Media that aired Thursday.
“I screwed up. I made a mistake,” he added. “I was on stage for 90 minutes. Think about what I’ve done in three and a half years.”
The White House has insisted Biden will “absolutely not” resign.
“I’m not going anywhere”
Biden himself has sought to signal his determination to continue the campaign, saying in a radio interview that “you get knocked down, you just get back up.”
Later, at a Fourth of July barbecue at the White House, Trump told the assembled military personnel and their families he was “not going anywhere.”
In response to a supporter yelling at him to “keep fighting,” Biden replied, “You guys got me. I’m not going anywhere.”
Moments later, Biden addressed the crowd again before the traditional fireworks display.
“We must do what our Founding Fathers did: show the world that we are a nation of dignity, honor and commitment to one another,” the president said in rare remarks without a teleprompter.
But further calls for Biden to resign continued on Thursday, putting pressure on his upcoming plans, including a prime-time interview with ABC News on Friday and a news conference during a NATO summit in Washington next week.
British magazine The Economist became the latest major publication to urge Biden to back down, joining the editorial boards of The New York Times and The Boston Globe.
Meanwhile, Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton has become the third sitting Democrat to call for a change of leadership.
“Biden has done a great deal for our country, but it’s time to follow in the footsteps of one of our founding fathers, George Washington, and step aside so new leadership can rise up to challenge Donald Trump,” Moulton told radio station WBUR.
‘Very sentimental’
As the president struggles to overcome his disastrous debate performance, America’s first female vice president, Kamala Harris, has suddenly found herself thrust into the spotlight.
The 59-year-old former California prosecutor introduced Biden onstage Thursday night but has continued to navigate delicate behavior since the debate.
She has publicly voiced her unwavering support for Biden but is standing by as a possible replacement if he were to step down.
Trump, who has largely (and unusually) remained silent thus far as Biden’s crisis deepened, broke his silence in sharp fashion on Thursday, lashing out at Biden and Harris in a leaked video that he posted to his Truth social account.
“I kicked that old, broken pile of junk,” Trump, who was sitting in a golf cart during the debate, said in the video.
“He’s out of the running. Yes, I pulled him out of the running. That means we’re left with Kamala,” Trump said. “She’s so awful, so pathetic.”
He then challenged Biden to another debate, saying it would “demonstrate his ‘competence’ – or lack thereof.”
“Let’s have another debate, but this time it will be an all-hands-on-deck debate with no strings attached, just the two of us on stage talking about the future of our country,” Trump posted on his Truth social platform.
He said he expects this debate to attract even higher viewership than the first one and that he is ready “anytime, anywhere, in any place.”
