Biden cornered as Covid-19 forces campaign event cancellation

Reports indicate that President Joe Biden is facing increasing pressure from prominent members of the Democratic Party to step down as the party's presidential nominee following a poor debate performance on June 27. Amid these growing calls for his resignation, Biden canceled a major event on Wednesday due to a COVID-19 infection.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer met with Biden over the weekend and advised him to "drop out of the race," according to ABC News. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries also expressed concerns that "Biden’s refusal to step down could spell disaster for Democratic Party," as reported by the Washington Post. Former House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi privately told Biden that he cannot defeat Donald Trump, CNN reported. These statements from current and former party leaders collectively oppose Biden's presidential bid.

Public calls for Biden to step aside followed suit. "While the choice to withdraw from the campaign is President Biden's alone, I believe it is time for him to pass the torch," said Representative Adam Schiff, a close ally of Pelosi, in a statement. This brings the total number of Democrats publicly calling for his resignation to 20.

Despite these calls, President Biden remains steadfast in his decision not to resign, though some analysts suggest he may be becoming more open to the idea. Biden plans to stay home in Delaware to recover from COVID-19 and canceled a scheduled speech at a Latino advocacy event in Las Vegas, Nevada. While admitting that COVID-19 is an infectious disease, local media have drawn comparisons to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, noting that he "has been shot and still managed to keep his schedule."


Woo-Sun Lim imsun@donga.com