'Clock is ticking': US President Joe Biden tours Pennsylvania

Joe Biden is on the campaign trail. Senator Chris Murphy wants to give Joe Biden another chance and wait for now. Independent Senator Bernie Sanders believes in Biden's chances: “President Biden can clearly defeat Donald Trump, the most dangerous president in the history of this country.”

Despite controversy over his fitness, US President Joe Biden made a series of campaign appearances in Pennsylvania on Sunday. He took long selfies with supporters in Harrisburg. Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers gathered for an unusual video call. US media reported at the time, citing informed sources, that many party leaders were convinced that Biden would have to withdraw from the race.

The 81-year-old Democrat first spoke at a historically black church in Philadelphia. He then made a surprise stop with campaign staffers in the same city before finally speaking to longtime supporters in Harrisburg, further west, where he took selfies and drank lemonade. On the way back to the airport, he stopped at a coffee shop. Biden appeared to be trying to counter the narrative last week that he was no longer physically fit to campaign.

Five lawmakers called on Biden to withdraw.

House Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called a meeting of the presidential party’s representatives. Five representatives have already spoken out publicly in favor of Biden’s exit. Two others have publicly assessed that Biden cannot defeat Republican rival Donald Trump in the November presidential election. Other Democratic members of Congress were not as extreme, but they expressed concern.

There is fear among Democrats that Biden’s position could affect their state. In the US elections in November, in addition to the presidency, all seats in the House of Representatives and a third of all seats in the Senate are up for vote. This is the main reason why more opposition is expected during the week of US congressional sessions that begins today. But according to a report by Axios, the meeting of Democratic senators that was scheduled for today according to US media will not take place.

“This can’t be a business-as-usual week,” Sen. Chris Murphy told CNN. Biden must prove to the American people that he is still the person “that so many of us know and love.” Murphy stressed that he believes Biden can do that, but also said, “The clock is ticking.”

Question Biden's decision

Congressman Adam Schiff made similar comments on NBC. The Democrat found Biden’s statement in a widely watched television interview on Friday (local time) particularly troubling because it was ultimately about whether he “did his best” as a candidate — even if he didn’t win the election. “It’s not just about whether he did his best,” Schiff said. “It’s about whether he made the right decision to run.”

Bernie Sanders’s situation was assessed differently. “President Biden can clearly defeat Donald Trump, the most dangerous president in the history of this country,” the independent senator said on CBS. Sanders acknowledged that Biden is old and no longer able to express himself with such elegance. “I wish he could jump up the steps of Air Force One — he can’t.” But the debate now must focus on whose policies would benefit the vast majority of the country.

Pennsylvania, a swing state

In Pennsylvania — a “swing state” that cannot be firmly attributed to Democrats or Republicans — Biden introduced himself alongside political allies from the state and, among other things, lightly addressed his aging.

“I know I sound like I’m only 40,” he joked to a crowd at a church in Philadelphia. “But I’ve been here a while, and to be honest, I’ve never been more optimistic about the future of America, but we’ve got to work together to make it happen,” Biden said. He read his speech from a manuscript in a strong voice. At subsequent demonstrations, he spoke without notes or a teleprompter — a request that anxious party colleagues have made several times before.

TV Interview Made Joe Biden's Situation Worse

Since his disastrous appearance in his first televised duel with Trump, Biden has been fighting on all fronts. A TV interview Biden gave on Friday (local time) raised doubts about his fitness rather than dispelling them. Among other things, he said only God could make him withdraw, refused to take a medical test on his mental fitness and questioned bad scan results.

The White House has already announced other appointments for Biden in mid-July. The US president is hosting the NATO summit in Washington this week. His performance there is likely to be closely watched. (APA/DPA)