Biden battles worst crisis of his 50-year career

Washington: US President Joe Biden is facing the worst crisis of his 50-year political career.

The recent debate against rival Donald Trump seems to have confirmed some people's worst fears. Critics said the oldest sitting president in US history is in a state of cognitive decline.

That's because two weeks ago, Biden appeared in a nationally televised debate to be physically frail, confused and befuddled.

Now, several members of Biden's party are calling for the president's withdrawal from the presidential election. Over 10 Democrats in the House of Representatives have urged Biden to step aside, and Vermont Senator Peter Welch became the first Democratic senator to make this request.

"People within Biden's own party are calling for him to step aside and let the Democratic convention pick another candidate for a three-month race against Trump," Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Darrell West told Xinhua news agency.

On Wednesday, former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, a long-time ally of Biden, did not directly respond when asked if she supports Biden's continuation in the campaign. Instead, she stated that "it's up to the president to decide if he is going to run" and noted that "time is running short."

The media chorus has been going strong for the two weeks since the debate, with a daily avalanche of opinion pieces calling on Biden to withdraw.

The New York Times' chief White House correspondent, Peter Baker, wrote that Biden's "halting and disjointed performance" prompted a "wave of panic among Democrats." National Public Radio reported that private fears within the Democratic Party about Biden are "slowly going public."

Biden hosted a major NATO summit in Washington this week. With persistent concerns within the Democratic Party, all eyes were on the president as he made a concerted effort to alleviate fears of his age and mental fitness.

In a speech before the press conference, he misnamed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as "President Putin." During the press conference, Biden accidentally referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as "Vice President Trump."

Biden's press conference started later than scheduled. For about an hour, he answered questions from roughly 10 media outlets, much of which focused on whether he should continue to run for office. Biden firmly reiterated his intention to stay in the race.

Analysts said Biden answered reporters' questions on foreign policy and NATO policy and stumbled somewhat on other answers.

Answering questions on his cognitive condition, Biden told reporters: "The only thing age does is create a little bit of wisdom."

"No one will be satisfied no matter how many tests Biden agrees to, no matter how many interviews he does, etc.," said Ashley Parker, a White House reporter for The Washington Post. "And again, that's the challenge, because he needs to do something that will put this discussion about his fitness to rest, and allow the Democrats to return to talking about Trump."

Last week, Biden appeared for an interview on the network ABC to reassure voters that he is the person for the job.

Christopher Galdieri, a political science professor at Saint Anselm College in the state of New Hampshire, told Xinhua: "To a certain extent, I think things like his ABC interview and other appearances have helped. The big problem is that none of these have been the sort of platform that the debate was. And these efforts haven't stopped calls from elected Democrats and fundraisers for the president to bow out of the race."

Notably, while doubts about Biden are increasing within the party, those publicly calling for his withdrawal remain in the minority, possibly due to a lack of consensus on a successor candidate.

Pushing Biden to resign abruptly could prevent any Democratic leader from uniting the party. It could lead to internal chaos, dealing a devastating blow to the Democrats in the presidential election in early November.

As Biden stated in a letter to Democratic lawmakers on Monday, there are only 42 days left until the Democratic National Convention officially announces the party's presidential nominee and only 119 days until the general election.

"Any weakening of resolve or lack of clarity about the task ahead only helps Trump and hurts us," Biden concluded. "It is time to come together, move forward as a unified party, and defeat Donald Trump."

According to the latest average of polls from Real Clear Politics, Trump has received a bump in key swing states, including Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, since the debate.

Those three states are crucial to winning the election, experts said.

Trump leads Biden in several other key swing states — some by significant margins.

On Thursday night, Trump ridiculed Biden in an online post following the NATO press conference, during which Biden mistakenly referred to his vice president as Trump.

"Crooked Joe begins his 'Big Boy' Press Conference with, 'I wouldn't have picked Vice President Trump to be vice president," Trump said in a post on his Truth Social site.

"Great job, Joe!"

With Trump leading Biden in election polls, NATO countries are concerned.

"Most allies see Trump as anti-NATO and isolationist-inclined ... They fear this will weaken the alliance and put in jeopardy US support for Ukraine," William Courtney, a retired US Ambassador and adjunct senior fellow at the RAND Corporation, told Xinhua.

A report by The Hill pointed out that NATO's next secretary general, Mark Rutte, may face his biggest challenge with the potential return of Trump to the White House.

The report noted that the increasing likelihood of Trump being re-elected will only exacerbate Europe's concerns about the withdrawal of the United States from NATO under Trump's leadership.