By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Arising from internal pressure within his Democratic Party to step aside, US President Joe Biden says only God can convince him to drop his bid for a second term in a general election November 5.
He dismissed the notion of stepping down, saying, “If the Lord Almighty came down and said, ‘Joe, get out of the race,’ I’d get out of the race. The Lord Almighty’s not coming down.”
This was fuelled by the President’s shaky performance at a debate June 27 with his predecessor, Donald Trump, who may likely fly the flag of the Republican Party.
Democrats and donors are pushing for a younger candidate that will replace Biden after his poor performance at the debate, but the 81-year-old 46th President of US has insisted on remaining in the race.
“I don’t think anybody’s more qualified to be president or win this race than me”, Biden said while attributing his performance at the debate to exhaustion and a cold.
The US leader also dismissed criticisms that he is too old and feeble to run for president for a second time, after the White House said he is not backing down from the race despite growing concerns.
During the interview, Biden sought to dismiss fears about losing ground to Trump, describing the race as a “toss-up” according to pollsters.
At a rally in Madison, Wisconsin, Biden appeared more energetic, directly addressing the debate aftermath. “Ever since then, there’s been a lot of speculation. What’s Joe going to do?” he said. “Here’s my answer. I am running and going to win again.”
Biden’s rally performance was in stark contrast to the debate, where he had several moments of forgetfulness. “I see all these stories that say I’m too old,” he said, defending his record. “Was I too old to create 15 million jobs? Was I too old to erase student debt for five million Americans?”
It has been reported that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has scheduled a meeting to discuss Biden’s candidacy, and several House Democrats have publicly called for him to step down.
