Democratic Party lawmakers met privately to discuss embattled US President Joe Biden’s re-election bid as questions continue to swirl around the president’s physical and mental fitness.
Closed-door negotiations on Tuesday highlighted continuing divisions within the party over Biden’s electability following his disastrous debate performance last month against Republican challenger Donald Trump.
Addressing reporters before and after the meeting, prominent Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, reiterated their support for Biden.
“I’m with Joe,” Schumer said repeatedly in response to questions about Biden’s fitness for office.
“We are with Biden,” Jim Clyburn of South Carolina told reporters.
While the talks appeared to put an end to the possibility of a mass uprising against Biden’s candidacy, at least for now, they failed to present a united front.
Dick Durbin of Illinois said “it remains to be seen” whether Biden will remain on the ticket.
Asked if Democrats were all on the same page, Tennessee’s Steve Cohen said, “We’re not even in the same book.”
Hours after the negotiations, Mikie Sherrill, a Democratic representative from New Jersey, became the seventh elected Democrat to publicly call on Biden to drop out of the race.
“I know that President Biden and his team have been true public servants and have put the country and the best interests of democracy first in their considerations,” Sherrill said in a statement.
“And because I know President Biden cares deeply about the future of our country, I ask that he declare that he will not run for reelection and that he will help lead us through a process toward a new candidate.”
While not calling for Biden to resign, Massachusetts House Representative Lori Trahan said “nothing that has happened in the last 12 days suggests” that voters see Biden as the best candidate to defeat Trump.
“A second Trump presidency will do irreparable harm to women and our country, and President Biden must act urgently to restore Americans’ confidence so we can win in November,” Trahan said in a statement.
Biden, 81, has struggled to win support within his party since his poor debate performance on Jan. 27 reignited long-standing concerns about his age and health.
On Monday, Biden said in a letter to congressional Democrats that he is “firmly committed to staying in this race, seeing it through, and defeating Donald Trump.”
“I’ve heard people’s concerns — their good faith fears and concerns about what’s at stake in this election,” Biden said.
“I can respond to all of this by saying clearly and unequivocally: I would not be running again if I did not absolutely believe that I was the best person to defeat Donald Trump in 2024.”
Biden faces a difficult path to re-election, with recent opinion polls suggesting Trump is in the lead both nationally and in the battleground states that will decide the outcome.
On Tuesday, the nonpartisan Cook Political Report changed Arizona, Georgia and Nevada from “contested” to “lean Republican.”
In a Reuters/Ipsos poll released last week, 59 percent of registered Democratic voters said Biden is too old for the job, while one in three said he should drop out of the race.
If Biden were to step aside, it would launch the race into uncharted territory.
The US presidential primary season, when party members typically vote for their preferred candidate, is over, although the party’s nominee will only be finalized at the Democratic National Convention next month.
Given that Biden won almost all of the party’s delegates, it is unlikely that he will be forced to resign against his will.
Vice President Kamala Harris has been widely touted as Biden’s most likely replacement if he drops out, although she hasn’t fared much better against Trump in polls.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
