Florida: Former US President Donald Trump, the presumptive presidential nominee of the Republican Party for the upcoming party, took a sharp dig at his Democratic rival Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, raising questions on her competence amid reports that she is being picked as a possible replacement for Biden after the political crisis following the President's poor debate performance on June 27.
In a strong return to his campaign trail in Miami on Tuesday, Trump claimed that Democrats “can't decide which of their candidates is more unfit to be president.” This came after Biden's faltering performance in the June 27 debate against Trump, coupled with his low public approval ratings, has raised fresh doubts among some Democrats about his ability to win the November 5 election or to manage the demands of his role for another four and a half years.
"The radical left Democrat Party is divided in chaos and having a full scale breakdown, all because they can't decide which of their candidates is more unfit to be president. Sleepy crooked Joe Biden or laughing Kamala? Laughing Kamal. As you know, in our recent debate and in honor of all of you, I dealt Joe Biden, even according to the fake news media, the most decisive and alarming defeat in the history of presidential debates," he said.
Trump calls Kamala Harris as "insurance policy"
In a mocking tone, Trump called Biden's choice of Harris, the first woman vice president of Indian and African heritage, his "one brilliant decision," implying that she was so inept that Democrats were reluctant to replace Biden with her on the top of the ticket. He also described Harris as an "insurance policy" for Biden after the latter's poor performance spooked Democrats to try and find a replacement.
"Whatever else can be said about crooked Joe Biden, you have to give him credit for one brilliant decision, probably the smartest decision he's ever made. He picked Kamala Harris as his vice president. No, it was brilliant because it was an insurance policy. Maybe the best insurance policy I've ever seen... If Joe had picked someone even halfway competent, they would have bounced him from office years ago. But they can't because she's got to be their second choice. She has no choice and no chance," he added.
The former President also challenged for another debate this week so that he can "prove to everyone all over the world that he has what it takes to be president", but without any moderators and no holds barred. He also challenged Biden to another golf match, which he said would be among the most-watched sporting events in history.
The Biden campaign dismissed Trump's golf challenge as a stunt. They said Biden, who gave a speech at the NATO summit in Washington on Tuesday vowing to defend Ukraine against Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion, was too busy governing. "Trump's bizarre and unhinged rants won’t stop Vice President Harris from defending the Biden-Harris record and prosecuting the case against Donald Trump’s extreme record," said campaign spokesperson Ammar Mousa.
More Democrats raise concerns over Biden's chances
Biden, 81, endured 12 days of withering questions about his fitness for office as some of his fellow Democrats on Capitol Hill after his dismal debate performance against former President Donald Trump on June 27. His hoarse-sounding, shaky performance at the debate raised concerns over his age and mental acuity to serve another term in the White House.
A growing number of Democrats in the US Congress said they worried that President Joe Biden could not beat Donald Trump in the Nov. 5 election, though they emerged from closed-door meetings on Tuesday with no plans for collective action. US Senator Michael Bennet became yet another Democrat who said Biden could not win, although stopping short of calling on him to drop out. "Donald Trump is on track I think to win this election, and maybe win it by a landslide and take with it the Senate and the House," Bennet said in an interview on CNN.
Representative Mikie Sherrill became the seventh House Democrat to call on Biden publicly to drop out of the race, saying in a statement, "The stakes are too high – and the threat is too real – to stay silent." Many more lawmakers have expressed worries that Biden has not done enough in the ensuing days to convince voters that the debate was an aberration, rather than a true reflection of his abilities.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre faced another salvo of questions from reporters about Biden's health on Tuesday. In a statement, the White House physician said Biden was not being treated for any neurological condition and had received a clean bill of health at his most recent physical examination in February.
(with inputs from Reuters)
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