President Joe Biden’s Friday night TV interview has not eased the rising calls within his own party for him to end his re-election campaign following a faltering debate performance against Donald Trump.
On Saturday, Angie Craig of Minnesota became the fifth House Democrat to urge the president to step aside, with reports indicating that more could join. In his rare prime-time ABC News interview, Mr. Biden brushed off his debate showing as a “bad episode” and asserted that only the “Lord Almighty” could convince him to end his re-election bid.
Mr. Biden, 81, is spending Saturday at his family home in Delaware, with two public events planned for Sunday. Despite the growing unease among Democrats, no senior party members have yet called for him to withdraw.
Some polls show Trump’s lead over Mr. Biden widening, raising concerns among Democrats about potentially losing the presidency, House seats, and the Senate majority if he leads the ticket.
Ms. Craig, running in a competitive Minnesota district, expressed doubts about Mr. Biden’s ability to “effectively campaign and win against Donald Trump,” citing the high stakes involved. Texas Congressman Lloyd Doggett, the first House Democrat to call for Mr. Biden to step down, reiterated on CNN that the urgency for Biden to withdraw is increasing. He argued that the longer Mr. Biden delays, the harder it becomes for a new candidate to effectively challenge Trump.
Other House Democrats, including Mike Quigley of Illinois and Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, also called for Mr. Biden to withdraw on Friday, joining Arizona’s Raúl Grijalva, who made his call on Wednesday.
During the interview, Mr. Biden declined to take and publicize a cognitive test to prove his fitness for another term. His response, “I have a cognitive test every single day. Every day I have that test – everything I do [is a test],” did not resonate with Democratic Congresswoman Judy Chu of California. She told Politico that his answer was “unsettling and not particularly convincing” and that she would be “watching closely… especially in spontaneous situations.”
