As Joe Biden tests positive for Covid-19, pressure to withdraw his candidacy is increasing among Democrats.
As voices are raised almost every day calling for the American president to withdraw from the presidential race due to his supposedly failing health, the White House indicated on Wednesday that Joe Biden had tested positive for Covid-19 while specifying that the American president is “fine”.
The White House argued that the president was “fully vaccinated” and that he “would continue to fully exercise his functions” during his lockdown, while he was campaigning to woo Hispanic voters in Nevada.
This information, which nevertheless risks refueling the fuel of his Democratic detractors, especially since his rival, Donald Trump is experiencing a surge in popularity following the assassination attempt on his life.
Democratic heavyweights have tried in recent days to convince the president to pass the torch, in the face of unfavorable polls following his disastrous performance in late June during his debate with his predecessor, a debate that raised a wave of questions about his physical and mental capacities.
Asked by BET on Tuesday what might make him consider throwing in the towel, the 81-year-old presidential candidate replied: “if I had a medical problem who appeared, if someone, doctors came to see me and said to me: +you have such a problem+”.
It is the first time that Mr. Biden has opened the door to the idea of abandoning his campaign.
According to CNN reporters, influential former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi recently told Joe Biden that he could “destroy the Democrats’ chances of winning” the legislative elections which will be held at the same time as the presidential election.
According to ABC News, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has also called on Biden to step down, a statement he has not denied.
White House spokesman Andrew Bates responded to AFP, saying the president had “told the two officials that he was the Democratic Party candidate” and that he planned to “winning, looking forward to being able to work” with them.
In a sign of tensions within the Democratic Party, officials announced Wednesday their willingness to speed up the process of nominating Mr. Biden with an early voting system whose modalities remain to be defined.
The system would allow voting during the first week of August rather than waiting until the Democratic convention, which begins in Chicago on Aug. 19.
Some Democrats have sharply criticized the plan, saying it was a way to force through Joe Biden’s candidacy. Vice President Kamala Harris is considered the favorite if Mr Biden withdraws.
According to a recent survey, Nearly two-thirds of Democrats surveyed said they wanted their president to throw in the towel.