Joe Biden’s campaign spokesman Seth Shuster said the US president will not withdraw his candidacy after a poor performance in a debate with former President Donald Trump on Thursday.
The first debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump in the new presidential race ended in complete failure for the current head of state. Most observers agree that Biden looks weaker than his predecessor, while Trump, on the contrary, spoke with confidence and assertiveness. What are the consequences of this for the future career?
Debate progress
Biden stated the facts and tried to explain the context and details of his policies and positions on key domestic and foreign policy issues, from immigration to abortion in Ukraine.
Trump, as usual, attacked his rival with a barrage of accusations and bombarded him with distorted facts and even lies, according to the New York Times.
Biden entered the debate with a cold, several reports of American publications, citing anonymous sources in the headquarters of his campaign, and he himself mentioned a sore throat after the debate. However, a cold could explain his receding voice, but not his stuttering and difficulty speaking.
During the debate, Trump and Biden argued about their ages. Asked about voters’ concerns about his age, Biden, 81, said his opponent is only a few years younger than him, “but less capable.”
“First of all, I’ve spent half my career being criticized for being the youngest person in politics… and now I’m the oldest. This guy is three years younger and less capable,” Biden said.
He urged voters to “just look at the track record of what I’ve done.”
When asked about his age, Trump, 78, pointed to his golf success, and said he felt he was in good shape.
“I just won two club championships, not even in the pros. You have to be smart to hit the ball far. He (Biden) doesn’t do that. He can’t hit the ball 50 yards,” Trump said.
Biden responded by saying he would “love” to play golf with Trump.
“I already told you I want to play golf If you bring your bag do you think?” Biden said.
“Let’s not act like children,” Trump said in response.
What they said about Ukraine
Trump said the conditions put forward by Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin were unacceptable, saying they were conditions to end the war unleashed by the Russian Federation against Ukraine.
Trump reiterated that he would end the war in Ukraine if re-elected, as he regularly does on the campaign trail, but gave no details on how he would do that.
Trump said that Putin dreamed of conquering Ukraine and told him about it, but Biden pushed him to it – or rather, the way he withdrew troops from Afghanistan, could not contain the panic, violence and chaos.
Trump said Ukraine was “not winning this war” and deplored the large number of people killed and the destruction of “thousand-year-old cities with golden domes.”
Trump also called Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky “the best salesman in the world,” commenting on the billions of dollars allocated to aid and support Kyiv by the Biden administration
What will happen next?
Convinced Democrats and Republicans had already made up their minds about their candidate before the campaign began, and neither Biden nor Trump said anything that could change their minds.
So the task of the two politicians is to reach a critical mass of voters whose collective choice can decide the outcome of the election and so far neither candidate likes – and this is exactly a quarter of Americans, according to a number of polls. .
However, Biden’s unconvincing performance has brought sudden intrigue to this presidential campaign. Theoretically, it is still possible to replace him – formally, the nomination of candidates from both parties will take place later in their congresses.
But it would be an extremely complicated procedure and would require the consent of Biden himself, who has insisted that his age is not an issue.
Traditionally, both parties have always given the incumbent president a chance to run for a second term without considering serious alternatives to him.
Politico reported that Democratic officials and donors were discussing a replacement with a party adviser telling the publication that “at least half a dozen major donors sent him a ‘disaster’ message and the Democrats ‘have to do something,’ but acknowledges that “little is possible unless” Biden sided with himself.
One of the party’s biggest donors and a Biden supporter said it’s time for the president to end his campaign.
He called Biden’s performance “the worst in history” and noted that it’s “too bad no one is going to pay attention to Trump’s lies.”
“Biden must step aside. Without a doubt,” the donor said in a text message, suggesting an alternative list led by the governors of Maryland and Michigan.
An adviser to key Democratic donors said they wrote angry messages, with some asking, “What is this?”
“Our only hope is that he steps down, we can come to an agreement at the party congress or he dies. If not, we are done,” the donor adviser said. However, even those who have privately complained about Biden’s performance argue that only he can solve this issue.
Joe Biden campaign spokesman Seth Shuster said that the US President will not withdraw his candidacy in the election.
Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.