President Joe Biden sought to speak loud and passionately in brief public remarks he delivered with a teleprompter at the White House on Thursday, as he faces close scrutiny over his stamina and mental acuity after a poor debate performance.
The 81-year-old Democrat’s shaky showing at a June 27 debate with Republican rival Donald Trump has sparked questions about his ability to keep up a grueling pace of work for the next 4-1/2 years and calls from some in his party to step aside.
Vice President Kamala Harris is the leading contender to take his place in the Nov. 5 election if Biden were to drop out, sources have said, though his allies believe he can assuage the concerns of voters and donors. Biden was hosting the annual July 4 Independence Day festivities at the White House on Thursday, including a barbecue for a few thousand active-duty military service members and their families.
Biden, in a suit with no necktie, began his remarks with a forceful “Happy Independence Day!”
Reading from a teleprompter, Biden made no major errors in delivering brief remarks, but at one point appeared to go off script to make reference to a war cemetery that Trump declined to visit while in office.
Biden mingled and took selfies with some of the families, before excusing himself and returning into the White House. He will give an interview to ABC News on Friday that will be aired in full at 8 p.m. ET (0000 GMT Saturday) and travel to Wisconsin the same day for a campaign rally.
Dozens of Democrats in the House of Representatives are watching closely and prepared to ask Biden to step aside if he falters in the ABC interview, a source told Reuters. Democrats see capturing control of the House in November as critical, as it could be their last hold on power in Washington if Trump returns to the White House and Republicans capture the Senate.
Biden faces a new reality since last week’s debate – even if he doesn’t falter verbally or physically, serious concerns about his viability as a candidate are likely to linger. If he mangles words or looks unfocused or confused, he will face renewed pressure to depart.
If reelected, Biden would be 86 at the end of a second term. He is being asked by some former supporters to step aside to preserve his legacy and lessen the chances of a second Trump presidency. With just four months to go before the election, a decision needs to be made soon, they say.
Democrats, including top allies, have left the door open to having Harris at the top of the Democratic ticket.
Seen by doctor
The White House has repeatedly said the president was suffering from a cold and jet lag on the night of the debate. On Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden had not had any kind of medical exam since his annual physical in February.
“He did not get checked out by the doctor. It’s a cold, guys. It’s a cold,” she said at a news briefing. However, spokesperson Andrew Bates said on Thursday that Biden saw a doctor after the debate. “Several days later, the president was seen to check on his cold and was recovering well,” he said.
Trump, 78, who made multiple false statements from the debate stage in Atlanta, falsely claimed in a video that was circulated on social media that he had driven Biden out of the race. He made disparaging comments about Harris in the same video, which the Trump campaign stood by.
Asked in a radio interview with WURD that aired on Thursday morning, whether there was any reason for the American people to be concerned after last week’s debate, Biden demurred. “No, I had a bad debate,” he said, adding that this should not erase what he has done as president for three and a half years.
Biden’s standing in opinion polls took a hit after the debate. Some 59% of Democrats responding to the Reuters/Ipsos poll said that Biden was too old to work in government, a concern that has shown up persistently in public opinion polling over the past year.
Biden met with a group of Democratic governors on Wednesday at the White House to make his case. Some told reporters afterward they were sticking by his side.
On Sunday, Biden and his wife Jill are due to speak to thousands at the National Education Association in Pennsylvania. Next week he hosts dozens of world leaders at the NATO summit in Washington, and holds a rare solo news conference.