Cutouts depicting U.S. President Joe Biden and Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump are displayed in a souvenir shop in Washington, U.S.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Donald Trump unleashed a torrent of invective against U.S. President Joe Biden on July 9, mercilessly assailing the embattled Democrat as he faces down calls to end his re-election bid after a disastrous debate performance.

Mr. Trump’s speech in Florida was his first public appearance since the clamour for Mr. Biden’s withdrawal began gaining momentum, and the gloves were emphatically off as the Republican accused Democrats of lying to protect the President.

“It’s the biggest cover up in political history,” Mr. Trump thundered near the start of a 75-minute speech, which focused almost entirely on his 81-year-old election rival.

“As you know, they are all co-conspirators in the sinister plot to defraud the American public about the cognitive abilities of the man in the Oval Office.”

Commentators have noted how Mr. Trump, 78, has appeared relatively restrained in recent days, stepping back from the limelight to allow the full glare of the media to stay on the Democratic leadership crisis.

But he dispensed with any pretence at restraint as he characterised Mr. Biden as a “corrupt, incompetent, cognitively impaired” leader who was barely aware of his own policies or record in office.

In a typically bombastic speech peppered with multiple exaggerations and falsehoods, Mr. Trump accused Mr. Biden of going missing regularly from the Oval Office while his son Hunter, a convicted felon, runs the government aided by First Lady Jill Biden.

Also Read | Trump turns 78, spotlighting age as central issue in 2024 race

For much of the rally at his Doral National golf resort in Miami, Mr. Trump ran through his usual stump speech, characterising America as teetering on the edge of catastrophe and describing a world facing a race against the clock to avert nuclear armageddon.

But there were multiple departures as Mr. Trump skewered Mr. Biden — and kept twisting — over numerous public statements from elected Democrats in recent days questioning his ability to carry the party to victory in November.

Golf challenge

The former President dared his successor to another debate without moderators and, in a lighter moment that raised a smile from audience members baking in 103-degree Fahrenheit (39-degree Celsius) heat, challenged him to a round of golf.

“It will be among the most watched sporting events in history, maybe bigger than the Ryder Cup or even the Masters,” he deadpanned.

“And I will even give Joe Biden 10 strokes a side… and if he wins, I will give the charity of his choice, any charity that he wants, $1 million. And I bet you he doesn’t take the offer.”

The pair had previously sparred over who had a better long game during the debate, and the Biden campaign’s response to the latest challenge came in the form of a golf pun.

“Joe Biden doesn’t have time for Donald Trump’s weird antics — he’s busy leading America and defending the free world,” it said.

“Donald Trump is a liar, a convict, and a fraud only out for himself par for the course.”

Florida Senator Marco Rubio is a frontrunner in the contest to be named Mr. Trump’s running mate at next week’s Republican nominating convention in Milwaukee, and he was in the front row to cheer on Mr. Trump and deliver brief remarks of his own.

Nearby, a digital billboard underscored the evolution that the Republican Party has undergone under Mr. Trump, playing 2016 footage of Rubio eviscerating the man he is hoping to work with for the next four years.

“You all have friends that are thinking about voting for Donald Trump,” the now staunchly loyal Mr. Rubio was seen telling a crowd in Texas. “Friends do not let friends vote for con artists.”

File picture of U.S. President Joe Biden during the first presidential debate hosted by CNN in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., June 27, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday acknowledged his performance during the June 27 presidential debate wasn’t his best, but blamed it on jet lag after two overseas trips earlier in June.

Mr. Biden has faced mounting questions about his 2024 reelection bid after last week’s shaky debate performance, with one House of Representatives fellow Democrat on Tuesday publicly calling on him to withdraw from the race.

Speaking at a campaign event in McLean, Virginia, on Tuesday evening, Mr. Biden admitted the debate against former President Donald Trump, his Republican rival, did not go well.

“I didn’t have my best night, but the fact is that you know, I wasn’t very smart,” Mr. Biden said, speaking at the campaign fundraiser without the aid of a teleprompter. “I decided to travel around the world a couple times, going through around 100 time zones… before… the debate.

“Didn’t listen to my staff and came back and nearly fell asleep on stage,” he said. “That’s no excuse but it is an explanation.”

Mr. Biden traveled to France and Italy during two separate trips in the space of two weeks last month, flying overnight from the Group of Seven summit in Bari, Italy, to appear at a fundraiser with former President Barack Obama in Los Angeles on June 15 before returning to Washington the following day.

He then spent six days at Camp David preparing for the June 27 debate.

White House officials have blamed Mr. Biden’s halting performance during the debate on a cold. Mr. Biden did not mention being sick during Tuesday’s fundraiser.

A new Reuters/Ipsos poll that closed on Tuesday showed that one in three Democrats think Mr. Biden should end his reelection bid following the debate, but no prominent elected Democrat does any better than Mr. Biden in a hypothetical matchup against Mr. Trump.

The two-day poll found that both Mr. Trump, 78, and Mr. Biden, 81, maintain the support of 40% of registered voters, suggesting that Mr. Biden has not lost ground since the debate. Election Day is November 5.

Sydney:

Within minutes of the conclusion of this week’s presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, it became clear to many that the 81-year-old Biden may not be capable of winning the general election in November.

His inability to clearly communicate during the 90-minute debate earned harsh criticism from across the US political spectrum, most notably among Democrats.

Van Jones, a former official in the Obama administration and CNN analyst, said about Biden:

He had a test to meet tonight to restore confidence in the country and of the base, and he failed to do that.

We’re still far from our convention. And there is time for this party to figure out a different way forward.

Biden did land a few blows on his predecessor over Trump’s various personal indiscretions and the January 6 2021 insurrection on the US Capitol, saying at one point, “you’ve got the morals of an alley cat”.

But it was not enough to persuade many sceptics that Biden is capable of fighting off the Trump campaign, not to mention performing the duties of US commander-in-chief and the hardest job in the world for another four years.

If polls over the weekend show Biden is losing support after his dreadful debate performance, which seems highly likely, the move to replace him as the Democrats’ candidate will become even more intense and, ultimately, irresistible.

How would this play out in the next few weeks?

Persuading Biden to step aside

Even with the withering criticism from his party, Biden remains in control of his fate. He won 99% of the pledged delegates in the Democratic primary process earlier this year, meaning he is entitled to the nomination. As a result, any decision to move to a different candidate starts with Biden himself.

Absent dramatic health news or his removal under the 25th amendment to the Constitution, which allows for such action by the vice president and a majority of his cabinet if the president is “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office”, Biden would have to agree to step down as the party’s nominee.

We should be realistic here: Biden is a very stubborn man. You don’t get to be the president of the United States without being enormously self-confident. Biden may not be the smartest or most talented politician, but he is dogged and relentless in his ambitions.

He ran for president twice before his success in 2020. He didn’t let a brain aneurysm, plagiarism charges, familial dramas or personal tragedy stop him seeking the highest office in the land. The day after the debate with Trump, he shook his fist at a campaign event in North Carolina and asserted, “When you get knocked down, you get back up”.

Persuading Biden to step down would require collaboration with his wife, First Lady Jill Biden. “Dr Jill”, as she is known, has taken a hands-on role in managing the president’s daily life and public appearances.

There are very few Democratic Party elders who can be influential with the Bidens. The list probably starts and stops with former President Barack Obama and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. If those two go to the first lady and forcefully urge Biden’s withdrawal, it could be very difficult to resist.

How could Biden save face?

If Biden withdraws from the race before the Democratic convention in mid-August, his delegates could then vote for a new nominee at the event. Potential nominees include Vice President Kamala Harris, California Governor Gavin Newsom, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro.

Notably, except for Harris, none of these candidates has been vetted publicly during the Democratic primary process for the world’s most scrutinised job.

If Biden were to withdraw from the race after the convention, a special meeting of the members of the Democratic National Committee would decide on the new nominee. This committee includes around 500 leading party members from all US states and territories. (Whitmer is one of three vice chairs.)

A question senior Biden confidants might be asking themselves is, which scenario offers Biden a more graceful and successful exit?

He may want to anoint a successor and he would want to choose the method that offers him the most control. That may be the convention route, where he at least can claim the allegiance of his primary delegates.

This would require an announcement in the next few weeks. The sooner the better, so as to build as much public support as possible for a new nominee. Biden could salvage a significant amount of his reputation if his handpicked successor then defeated Trump in November.

Things look grim for Democrats right now, but in the long run, they may be in a strong position. Trump is very unpopular with most Americans. The 2021 insurrection remains a massive stain on his legacy. His vote ceiling among probable voters in November is still likely below 50%.

Veteran Obama strategist David Axelrod warned Republicans after the debate:

If, for whatever reason, there’s a change at the top of the ticket, you guys are in trouble with Donald Trump. Because the guy who was up there tonight is not a guy who’s going to inspire people.

A tough and nimble Democratic candidate who can communicate clearly could be very successful in November.

(Author:Lester Munson, Non-Resident Fellow, United States Studies Centre, University of Sydney)

(Disclosure Statement:Lester Munson receives funding from the U.S. Studies Centre at the University of Sydney. He is affiliated with BGR Group, a Washington, D.C., consulting firm and is a former Republican official in the George W. Bush administration and on Capitol Hill)

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
 

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