The US president has said it would take “some medical condition” to force him out of the race for the White House
US President Joe Biden has stated that he would halt his reelection campaign if doctors informed him of a medical issue. Concerns regarding Biden’s mental capacity have been a recurring issue for his campaign, particularly after his underwhelming performance in a debate against former President Donald Trump last month.
In an interview with BET News filmed earlier this week, Biden was asked if any circumstance would prompt him to reconsider running for the White House.
“If I had some medical condition that emerged, if doctors came and said ‘you’ve got this problem, that problem’,” Biden responded, before emphasizing his confidence in his ability to “get the job done.”
Republican critics have long asserted that Biden lacks the mental resilience necessary for the presidency. However, his performance at a CNN-hosted debate with Trump last month highlighted his apparent vulnerability, even among members of his own party. Biden stumbled over words and numbers, struggled to complete his sentences, and was easily susceptible to Trump’s witty remarks and verbal jabs.
As the White House offered a variety of explanations for Biden’s subpar showing, liberal commentators and Democrat began urging the president to withdraw his candidacy. This sentiment was echoed by nearly two dozen Democrat lawmakers in Congress. Despite further verbal blunders and gaffes – including mistakenly referring to Vice President Kamala Harris as “Vice President Trump” – Biden has maintained that he is “not going anywhere” and is “the best candidate to beat Donald Trump.”
In a speech at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) convention on Monday, Biden again struggled to complete sentences, even while reading from a teleprompter. Shifting between whispering and shouting, Biden cited several inaccurate statistics, including claiming at one point that gunshot wounds are the leading cause of death for children in the US.
Biden has repeatedly declined to take a cognitive test, arguing that the demands of the presidency sufficiently assess his abilities. He has also dismissed claims that he suffers from Parkinson’s disease, although White House records reveal multiple visits from a neurologist specializing in the condition since last summer.
Concerns about Biden’s mental fitness were temporarily overshadowed by the attempted assassination of Trump on Saturday. However, efforts to remove the president from office appear to have continued, with the New York Times reporting on Wednesday that a group of Democrat megadonors are “dangling money to members of Congress” willing to publicly call on Biden to step aside.