Every time things look like they can’t get worse for President Joe Biden, they seem to do just that.
The Fourth of July holiday brought no respite after Biden’s disastrous debate performance, which raised concerns about his capacity to serve a second term and pitched his reelection campaign into an existential crisis.
And the scrutiny will only increase on Friday with the airing of an ABC interview that will provide a critical test of the president’s ability to stem panic in the Democratic Party exactly four months from Election Day.
The latest effort by the White House to quell the controversy is already disintegrating. The New York Times and CNN reported Thursday that the president had told Democratic state governors that he needed more sleep and that he’d no longer schedule events after 8 p.m., three sources briefed on the comments said. His reasoning frustrated several governors who’d come to the White House to seek reassurance about Biden’s condition, sources said. And it is likely to raise further questions about whether the president is fit to fully execute the duties of the presidency now, let alone toward the end of a second term, when he would be 86. Biden’s comment may also infuriate Democrats who want him to be far more visible and to throw himself into spontaneous, unscripted events to prove his stamina and sharpness.
But Biden issued another defiant warning that he has no intention of stepping down, a day after several allies privately said he’s aware that the coming days could be critical for his hopes of staying in the race. “I’m not going anywhere,” Biden told military families gathered to watch July Fourth fireworks at the White House.
The administration’s attempts to explain away the president’s poor debate performance keep having the opposite effect. So…
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