3 July 2024 Punjab Khabarnama : Amidst calls for him to withdraw from the White House race due to his poor debate performance, US President Joe Biden is set to have lunch with Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday.
The meeting is also taking place following Representative Lloyd Doggett of Texas becoming the initial Democratic member of Congress to publicly urge Biden to withdraw from the race on Tuesday.
Despite his lackluster debate performance against Donald Trump, the 81-year-old Commander-in-Chief, Joe Biden, has stated that he has no intention of withdrawing. However, Democrats have expressed concern about his age and capability to serve as president for another four years.
Harris is among the top candidates being considered to replace Biden as the leader of the Democratic ticket. She recently supported Biden and acknowledged that although he had a slow start during the debate, he finished strongly.
She added that it became evident throughout the night that Joe Biden is advocating for the American people in terms of substance, policy, and performance. Additionally, on Wednesday night, Biden is scheduled to meet with Democratic governors in an attempt to address concerns about his candidacy.
As per the Associated Press, the White House announced that Biden will have discussions with congressional leaders later this week, conduct a press conference in the upcoming days, and participate while being interviewed by George Stephanopoulos of ABC.
According to Politico, a memo from Biden’s campaign showed that the current President is falling behind former President Donald Trump. The memo included internal polling data which indicated that Biden had lost support in crucial swing states both before and after the debate.
Before the debate, Biden and Trump had an equal percentage of the vote (43%), but according to the document, by Tuesday, Biden’s vote share decreased to 42% while Trump’s increased by 0.2 percentage points.
According to the memo, Jen O’Malley Dillon and Julie Chavez Rodriguez, top campaign executives for Biden, appeared to be preparing their staff for an upcoming poll that is expected to indicate a slightly larger shift in the race. The poll has not been made public yet.
Polls indicate that Biden’s reelection campaign has experienced a decline in momentum due to his debate performance. A recent CBS survey, published on Wednesday, shows that Trump’s support has increased by 2 points nationwide and by 3 points in key states.
