NATO sources are concerned: "Biden may not live for four years"
Not only the Democrats in the USA worry about Joe Biden's age and ability to beat Trump in the presidential election - so do a long line of NATO sources that Politico spoke to before next week's summit.
- It doesn't take a genius to see that the president is old. We are not sure he will survive another four years even if he wins, says an official from a European NATO country.
European leaders have generally not commented publicly on the issue of Biden's age. An exception is Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who said after the president's debate with Trump that "they definitely have a problem."
Biden will now again be under scrutiny at the NATO summit, which will be held in Washington DC from Tuesday to Thursday. Among other things, he will open it with a speech to mark NATO's 75th anniversary.
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Analysis: A display of stubbornness and denial
All is peace and joy in Joe Biden's world, writes Peter Baker for the New York Times after the president's interview with ABC News published last night.
"The disastrous debate? A bad night. The failing public opinion figures? Incorrect. The pessimistic election forecasts? Same old doomsday prophets. The Democrats who want him to step aside? Nobody told him that.”
The debate was a display not only of damage minimization, but also of reality minimization – the stubbornness that has served Biden throughout his long political career is now making him increasingly isolated, Baker continues.
Molly Ball is on the same track in the Wall Street Journal. The interview will rather fuel party comrades' concerns than calm them, she writes.
"Although he was mostly coherent, the president appeared to be in denial about the crisis that has befallen his party, adamant that he will not give up his candidacy."
If Biden ends up stepping aside, it will seemingly be against his will, Ball continues.
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Five members are now urging Biden to step aside
Angie Craig of Minnesota has become the fifth Democratic member of the House of Representatives to openly call on Joe Biden to withdraw his candidacy. This is reported by Politico.
She bases that on "what I saw and heard from the president in last week's debate in Atlanta, combined with the absence of a strong response after the debate."
Craig becomes the first member of parliament to openly call on the president to step aside after last night's interview with ABC, which the campaign staff hoped would add fuel to the airwaves.
On Sunday, Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries will hold a digital meeting with party leaders, and is expected to discuss Biden's candidacy, according to Axios.
A number of party sources testified that donors are worried, and many Democrats also worry that Biden could hurt attempts to win a majority in the House of Representatives.
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