Biden may be forced to drop out of race, specialist says • FRANCE 24 English

Biden may be forced to drop out of race, specialist says • FRANCE 24 English

Let’s cross over to speak to Thomas gift who is director at the center of us politics at UCL Thomas it’s great to have you on the program so this interview with ABC was really an opportunity for Biden to reassure and show voters that he’s able to serve another term but it doesn’t seem to have had this effect well I don’t think that anything that Biden said was disqualifying in the interview last night but he didn’t do much to calm the jittery nerves of Democrats and I think the voices within his party on Capitol Hill as well as kind of in the commentariat in the punditry they’re not growing any softer uh Biden I think is in a real bind here uh but as long as he says that he’s going to continue to stay in the race the Democrats really don’t have any other option and do you see any possibility of him stepping down and if so what would convince him to do so I certainly think there’s a possibility that he may do so he may be forced to do so I I think any uh additional gaffs or mental lapses or moment so to speak they’re going to be magnified under the microscope and they’re going to again Louden the calls for him to to step down uh what may convince him you know that uh a large number of democratic lawmakers calling him and saying we’re just not supporting you um at the moment but I think he’s getting a lot of advice from within sort of his inner circle in the White House and they’re continuing to say at least according to reports that you need to stay in the race you can win it and there’s been quite a bit of talk about who would replace him potentially there’s been some talk about vice president Kamala Harris potentially um replacing him who are the other potential Replacements well there are a number of names that are floated one is Maryland governor West Moore another is California governor uh Gavin Nome another is Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer all of these are Democrats that have somewhat of a national profile and have been talked about in the context of this election but I think if you’re looking for a replacement Harris is certainly going to be in the top tier of candidates and it’s going to be very difficult for the Democratic party to not select her simply because of the position that she now holds and of course if even if he stays in the race the all important question is can he actually beat Donald Trump polls are currently showing that the former president is in the lead absolutely and if you looked at the polls before the debate Trump had couple percentage point lead that’s widen to about N9 or 10 points nationally even more importantly is how he’s fairing in these key Battleground States like Pennsylvania and Ohio and Michigan and Wisconsin there the numbers look even more dispiriting and I do think that one of the concerns that Democrats raised with last night’s interview was that he didn’t seem to understand the urgency of the situation and the point at which he now stands if he loses to Donald Trump and sort of goes about his business here despite all the calls for him to step down uh I think his legacy is really going to be damaged and I wanted to get your opinion on reports that I saw that Biden’s staff is have been apparently been instructed to avoid scheduling events for him after 8:00 p.m. um we’re talking about a President Who if he stays in office will have to deal with anything that can come at any time um so even if he wins will he actually be able to govern you know if he can’t stay up past 8:00 pm that’s a great question I think that the White House has offered a string of excuses that were not very convincing one that he had jet lag another that he has a cold another that this doesn’t happen outside the window of 10: a.m. to 4 p 4 P.M this is not a part-time job you know this is the presidency of the United States you need to be acute and aware at all hours of the day because emergencies can happen at any time back in 2008 Hillary Clinton had a famous advertisement where she asked voters who do you want to take that 3:00 a.m. phone call and apparently Biden’s response to that is wait seven hours and we’ll get back to you it’s not a convincing uh message no and I also wanted to get your opinion on um some reports that some have been saying that he’s quite out of touch following that interview um on ABC that he’s quite out of touch with voters give us your assessment of that I think Biden needs to rethink his current messaging which seems to be that he’s a less Adept version of his prior self but that he’s serviceable relative to Trump that’s just not inspiring the day after the debate Biden said at a rally in North Car Carolina that he doesn’t walk as easy as he used to speak as smoothly as he used to debate as well as he used to but then apparently voters aren’t supposed to ask the obvious whether Biden can negotiate with foreign leaders as easy as he used to work with an opposition in Congress as smoothly as he used to make decisions about War and Peace as well as he used to you know I do think there’s a sense that Biden’s Inner Circle is protecting him shielding him from public View and he does seem somewhat out of touch about sort of the concerns that are being raised the legitimate concerns and Thomas tell us what do you think do you think Biden can actually continue and serve another term in office well that’s a really good question uh I do think that it’s time for him to step down there are just too many concerns being raised that I’m not sure that he can have the Mandate that he wants going into the next presidency even if he can beat uh Donald Trump you know we’re not just talking about the next four or five months which is one thing we’re talking about the next four or five years and I do think that these concerns about Biden’s mental acuity and physical Vigor are valid we’re saying that now when he’s 81 can he make it through another four years whenever he’s 85 uh 86 I I really don’t see it increasingly I really don’t see it which is a shame because he’s really had sort of a remarkable Legacy uh as vice president and now president and I do think that he risks throwing that away and just a final question on um uh what he said said in that interview he repeatedly reject talking um taking an independent medical evaluation um what’s reaction likely to be to that that he’s saying no to um getting tested well I don’t think that that’s too surprising I mean his campaign would say that this is sort of a gimmick and it’s unnecessary but the fact that he won’t take it I think does say something if he knew that he was going to pass with flying colors I don’t see any downside to it maybe there is concern within the administration that he wouldn’t be able to to to pass it so I think it’s a legitimate question um but I do think more important is just what viewers are seeing uh and they can’t unsee what they saw at the debate uh last week and I think even in last night’s interview although he was better certainly he was better he still comes off as relatively frail uh and that’s that’s just the reality he’s 81 years old again there’s no shame in that but the question is whether that makes him fit for four more years in office and a lot of Americans 72% of Americans in fact don’t think that he has the mental acuity and physical Vigor to do the job Thomas gift thank you so much for coming on the program thank you for your analysis um yeah thank you Thomas gift is a director at the center of us politics at UCL

President Joe Biden may be forced to drop out of the presidential race despite his interview Friday with ABC news where he dismissed concerns over his ability to carry out another term in office, UCL Director of the centre on US politics Thomas Gift told FRANCE 24. “Any additional gafs or mental lapses or senior moments, to be speak, they’re gonna be magnified under a microscope and they’re gonna louden the calls for him to step down,” Gift said.
#USA #Biden #presidential election

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