In another blow to America’s 81-year-old president, veteran Texas politician Lloyd Doggett on Tuesday became the first Democrat in the US Congress to publicly call for Biden to withdraw from the 2024 race.
“My decision to make these strong reservations public is not done lightly nor does it in any way diminish my respect for all that President Biden has achieved,” said Doggett, who is the second-highest ranking Democrat in the powerful House Ways and Means Committee.
“Recognising that, unlike Trump, President Biden’s first commitment has always been to our country, not himself, I am hopeful that he will make the painful and difficult decision to withdraw. I respectfully call on him to do so.”
Five months out from the election, the Trump campaign is gaining momentum, emboldened not only by the debate but also this week by the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling, which has shielded the twice-impeached Republican from prosecution over acts he took as president.
The White House, on the other hand, has been in damage control and spent its first press briefing since the debate fielding questions about Biden’s ability to do his job, including whether he is senile or suffering from a degenerative condition.
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“It’s a no, and I hope you’re asking the other guy the same question,” said Jean-Pierre, in reference to Trump, who is 78.
Similar comments were also made by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who told MSNBC it was legitimate to ask if Biden’s debate performance was “an episode” or “a condition”.
However, Pelosi, who is 84, added: “When people ask that question, it’s completely legitimate – of both candidates.”
Asked if the White House would be prepared to release more fulsome reports on Biden’s health, Jean-Pierre said the president had already released the results of his annual medical examinations.
Lloyd Doggett is the first Democrat congressman to publicly call on Biden to pull out of the presidential race.Credit: Bloomberg
The latest examination took place in February, and in a five-page memo released at the time, Biden’s long-standing physician, Kevin O’Connor, declared that there were “no new concerns” since the president’s previous physical check-up in February 2023.
The medical team had assessed Biden’s stiff gait, sleep apnoea and a root canal, but overall, O’Connor said at the time: “President Biden is a healthy, active, robust 81-year-old male, who remains fit to successfully execute the duties of the presidency.”
Behind the scenes, however, Democrats remained in panic mode, particularly after various reports suggested Biden’s performance during the debate – in which he struggled to complete sentences, forgot details and at one point froze – was “not a one-off”.
“There have been 15, 20, occasions in the last year-and-a-half when the president has appeared somewhat as he did in that horror show that we witnessed,” veteran Watergate journalist Carl Bernstein told CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Monday, citing unnamed sources who had witnessed this first hand.
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A CNN poll taken after the debate provided some good news for the president, showing that the six-point lead Trump held over Biden two months ago had not changed despite last week’s event.
The same poll, however, also showed that most Americans now believe that another candidate would have a better chance of beating Trump than Biden, with Vice President Kamala Harris within striking distance of the Republican (45 to 47 per cent).
Other contenders – such as California Governor Gavin Newsom, Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer – trailed Trump by about 4 to 5 percentage points on a hypothetical match-up.
Biden, however, insists he is not going anywhere.
In a bid to counter concerns, he visited the District of Columbia’s emergency operations centre on Tuesday to discuss the dangers of extreme heat, and used his speech to take aim at Trump and “MAGA Republicans” for climate change denialism.
He later met with governors who had concerns.
The White House also announced he would hold a press conference at next week’s NATO summit in Washington and his first post-debate interview.
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