Washington: US President Joe Biden once again acknowledged his dismal performance against his Republican rival Donald Trump during the heated presidential debate last week, but appeared to blame it on jet lag after two overseas trips earlier in June. The 81-year-old President faced harsh criticism for his shaky and stumbling performance in the debate, with a fellow Democrat from the US House of Representatives openly calling for him to withdraw from the presidential race.
During the debate, a hoarse-sounding Biden delivered a shaky, halting performance in which he stumbled over his words on several occasions. Some Democrats later said privately that the showing could prove to be a disqualifying factor. For his part in the debate, Trump made a series of well-worn falsehoods, including claims that migrants have carried out a crime wave, that Democrats support infanticide and that he actually won the 2020 election.
"I didn’t have my best night, but the fact is that you know, I wasn’t very smart. I decided to travel around the world a couple times, going through around 100 time zones ... before ... the debate. I didn't listen to my staff and came back and nearly fell asleep on stage," he said at a campaign event in McLean, Virginia, on Tuesday evening (local time).
Biden also apologised by saying he was sorry for the performance. "It’s not an excuse but an explanation." Notably, Biden travelled to France and Italy during two separate trips in the space of two weeks last month, flying overnight from the G7 summit in Italy, to appear at a fundraiser with former President Barack Obama in Los Angeles on June 15 before returning to Washington the following day.
Will Biden be replaced?
Regardless, many overseas allies of the Democrats also called Biden's performance a "disaster" and a "shipwreck", calling for him to step aside. The New York Times editorial board, which endorsed Biden in 2020, called on him to drop out of the race to give the Democratic Party a better chance of beating Trump by picking another candidate. "The greatest public service Mr Biden can now perform is to announce that he will not continue to run for re-election," the editorial said.
White House officials have blamed Biden's halting performance during the debate on a cold. Biden did not mention being sick during Tuesday's fundraiser. A new Reuters/Ipsos poll on Tuesday showed that one in three Democrats think Biden should end his reelection bid following the debate, but no prominent elected Democrat does any better than Biden in a hypothetical matchup against Trump.
US Representative Lloyd Doggett became the first congressional Democrat to call for Biden to withdraw from the presidential race on Tuesday, applauding his "transformational" first term in office but said it was time to let another member of the party challenge Trump. The President's team has scrambled to reassure key donors that he was the best choice against Trump.
Democratic leaders have, for now, rejected the idea of replacing Biden. "Absolutely not," responded Georgia Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock, one of several Democrats seen as a possible replacement for Biden. "Bad debates happen," he told NBC's Meet the Press program. "The question is, 'Who has Donald Trump ever shown up for other than himself and people like himself?' I'm with Joe Biden, and it's our assignment to make sure that he gets over the finish line come November."
Kamala Harris has better chance of becoming President
Meanwhile, a CNN poll found that US Vice President Kamala Harris, who is of Indian and African descent, has a better chance of retaining the White House in the November presidential polls than her boss, as Biden's approval rating plummeted after the debate performance.
According to the CNN poll conducted by SRS, Trump is ahead of Biden by six points. The poll also finds Harris within striking distance of Trump in a hypothetical matchup: 47 per cent of registered voters support Trump, 45 per cent Harris, a result within the margin of error that suggests there is no clear leader under such a scenario.
“Harris’ slightly stronger showing against Trump rests at least in part on broader support from women (50 per cent of female voters back Harris over Trump vs. 44 per cent for Biden against Trump) and independents (43 per cent Harris vs. 34 per cent Biden),” the polls said.
Additionally, former First Lady Michelle Obama leads Trump by a whopping 11 points in an Ipsos poll—50 per cent to 39 per cent — though her office told NBC News in March she would not be running for president this year. Some Republicans speculated that Michelle Obama would be picked to replace Biden immediately after the debate.
(with inputs from agencies)
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