Tag: joe biden

President says that in defence of democracy, which is at stake, it is more important than any title…reports Asian Lite News

President Joe Biden emphasised that he has decided to pass the torch to a new generation, adding that his decision to step aside from his campaign is a matter of democracy.

Addressing the nation from the Oval Office, the first since he announced his withdrawal from the 2024 election race and endorsed Kamala Harris as the Democratic Party nominee as the country’s president, Biden said that this is the best way to unite our nation.

“I’ve decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation. That’s the best way to unite our nation. You know, there is a time and a place for long years of experience in public life. There’s also a time and a place for new voices, fresh voices, yes, younger voices and that time and place is now,” he said.

Oval Office addresses have historically been serious moments for presidents to speak to the American people at times of national crisis or to make major policy announcements.

Biden, who returned to the White House on Tuesday after testing negative for COVID-19, addressed his decision to step aside from his campaign and said that he was framing the 2024 election as a choice “between moving forward and backwards, between hope and hate” and casting his decision as a matter of democracy.

“My fellow Americans, it has been the privilege of my life to serve this nation for over 50 years. Nowhere else on earth could a kid with a stutter from modest beginnings in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and Claymont, Delaware, one day sit behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office as president of the United States,” the US President said.

Biden recalled the extraordinary American presidents, including Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt.

“In this sacred space, I’m surrounded by portraits of extraordinary American presidents. Thomas Jefferson wrote the immortal words that guide this nation. George Washington showed us that presidents are not kings. Abraham Lincoln, who implored us to reject malice, and Franklin Roosevelt, who inspired us to reject fear, I revere this office, but I love my country more,” Biden said.

The US President added that in defence of democracy, which is at stake, it is more important than any title.

“It’s been the honour of my life to serve as your president. But in defence of democracy, which is at stake and is more important than any title. I draw strength and I find joy in working for the American people,” he said.

“This sacred task of perfecting our union is not about me. It is about you. Your families. Your futures. It is about ‘we, the people,” he added.

“We are a great nation because we are good people. When you elected me to this office, I promised to always level with you, to tell you the truth. The truth, the sacred cause of this country, is larger than any one of us,” he said. “We must unite to protect it.”

Biden further noted that now, in just a few months, the Americans will choose the course of America’s future.

He also championed his vice president, who’s now taking his place on the ticket, and said that he has made his choice and has made his views known.

Calling the US Vice President tough and capable, Biden said, “I would like to thank our great vice president, Kamala Harris. She’s experienced. She’s tough, and she’s capable. She’s been an incredible partner to me and a leader for our country. Now the choice is up to you, the American people.”

The Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump, meanwhile, said at a rally that Kamala Harris was a “radical left lunatic”.

As he was concluding his speech, he said that the choice of president is “up to you, the American people.”

“When Ben Franklin was asked, as he emerged from the convention going on, whether the founders had given America a monarchy or a Republic, Franklin’s response was: a republic, if you can keep it…whether we keep our republic, is now in your hands,” he said.

While Biden did not mention Donald Trump by name, he tried to draw a clear contrast with the former president, whose ambition led him to claim victory in an election he did not win four years ago.

Biden said that in America, kings and dictators do not rule, the people do, adding that history is now in the hands of the American people.

“The great thing about America is, here, kings and dictators do not rule,” Biden said. “The people do. History is in your hands, the idea of America lies in your hands.” (ANI)

ALSO READ: Biden Quits Re-election Campaign to “Pass the Torch”

The 81-year-old President’s achievements in his 36 years in the Senate, eight as Vice-President and nearly four as the 46th President were dimmed by one television debate last month when he stumbled going against his Republican adversary Donald Trump, writes Arul Louis

Starting as a local councillor 54 years ago, Joseph Robinette Biden reached his lifelong ambition of becoming the leader of the most powerful country only to see his career melt in a pool of pathos, his mental and physical capabilities called into question.

The 81-year-old President’s achievements in his 36 years in the Senate, eight as Vice-President and nearly four as the 46th President were dimmed by one television debate last month when he stumbled going against his Republican adversary Donald Trump.

His performance raised questions about his mental and physical ability to run for re-election and on Sunday he quit the race after his support seemed to seep.

Standing firm in 2020, he fought off Trump’s unrelenting vicious attacks against him in the most divisive election campaign of modern times and had his election certified by Congress — a process temporarily disrupted by hordes of violent Trump supporters invading the Capitol building.

His selection of Kamala Harris to be Vice-President — the first woman and the first person of Indian and African descent to hold the office — is one of his marks on history.

“Joe Biden has been one of America’s most consequential Presidents,” said Barack Obama, who had picked him as Vice-President, summing up many Democrats’ view of Biden’s legacy.

“Today, we’ve also been reminded – again — that he’s a patriot of the highest order,” he added, referring to his decision to leave the presidential race to avoid hurting the party’s standing.

When he was sworn in as President in 2021 alongside Harris, the nation was in the throes of the Covid-19 pandemic, virtually shut down and caught in an economic downturn.

He steered the country through the last days of the pandemic to a semblance of normalcy, but ironically a bout of Covid confirmed the doubts about his capacity to lead as he hunkered down to heal while questions about his physical abilities swirled stronger.

His economic policies to pull the nation from the economic doldrums also sent inflation spiralling to about 20 per cent becoming one of the issues ranged against him in his bid for re-election.

But employment was back up reaching historic levels, and the stock markets boomed, which were his campaign points.

His signature achievement in his presidency was the adoption of packages totalling about $1.6 trillion for an economic resurgence that included massive infrastructure projects, plans for increasing middle-class jobs and building self-sufficiency in key technology, particularly computer chips.

Immigration was a weakness of Biden, who in the heat of the 2020 campaign gave the impression that he would welcome illegal immigration in a bid to differentiate himself from Trump’s harsh rhetoric.

About 10 million people surged through the borders till he adopted Trump’s tactic to stem the tide that was becoming an electoral millstone.

Biden made more of a mark on foreign policy by actively re-engaging with the world, raising the level of Indo-Pacific involvement and trying to extend it, rejoining UNESCO, repairing the damage to NATO ties from Trump’s rhetoric, and keeping a conflagration from engulfing the Middle East.

On the foreign policy front, Biden faced three challenges: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Palestine crisis, and China’s challenge.

One of Biden’s successes was in rallying NATO, and other countries, in support of Ukraine and against Russia that invaded it, making it an existential issue for Europe.

But domestic support for financial and military support was turning shaky as the war verged on a stalemate.

And Moscow continues to be a consequential adversary, acting in concert with China.

Palestine pulled him into a vortex of controversy, his unconditional support for Israel soon after the Hamas attack dividing his party and making him harden his attitude toward Israel, pushing for a ceasefire in Gaza, as the Palestinian toll rose to about 30,000 and protests broke out across the US.

In confronting China, Biden invested in relations with India and the Quad, the group of four countries that includes Japan and Australia.

He lifted the Quad interactions to the level of Prime Ministers and a President.

In facing China, the most contentious adversary, he took a two-pronged approach: Building up a coalition against Beijing and limiting its economic power by cutting access to technology and the market.

He also has challenges from North Korea, an unstable nuclear and missile power, and Iran, a nation close to achieving nuclear capability and an instigator of troubles across the Middle East.

He tried to make India the fulcrum of a regional policy extending the Indo-Pacific strategy towards the Middle East, setting up I2U2, another Quad with Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

Under Biden, the US built up defence and technology relations with India aimed at boosting it as a counterweight to China and an alternative supply chain source, especially in hi-tech.

The high point was Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit last year to Washington, high on White House symbolism with pomp and ceremony, but matched by substantive policy agreements.

Tragedies have seared Biden’s personal life but he has overcome them, soldiered on in politics.

Just as Biden was about to start his Senate career as a 29-year-old, his first wife Neilla, their sons Beau and Hunter, and daughter Amy were in an automobile accident.

Neilla and Amy died, while the sons were hospitalised with traumatic injuries.

Beau Biden, who survived the crash and was seen as his father’s political successor, died in 2015 while Joe Biden was considering a run for President in next year’s race.

After serving in the military in Iraq, Beau Biden was making a mark in politics after being elected the Attorney General of Delaware, when brain cancer felled him.

Joe Biden attributed the cancer to the risks his son took during his military deployment.

The other son, Hunter Biden, became a drug addict trailed by personal and political scandals and was convicted of gun charges last month adding to his woes.

Biden had overcome physical issues, starting with a stuttering problem, which he has said he conquered by reciting poetry, and becoming able to make political speeches.

Joe Biden suffered two brain aneurysms and underwent separate surgeries for them and also had a pulmonary embolism in 1988, putting him out of action for about half the year.

Through his sorrows and joys, his second wife Jill whom he married in 1977 has stood by him — a counsellor and an anchor.

She has been politically involved and campaigned for him in elections and likely had a say in his decision to leave the presidential race.

They have a daughter Ashley Blazer, who is a social worker.

Jill Biden, who has a doctorate, is an English professor at Northern Virginia Community College and continues to work as the First Lady.

Biden was born in a family mostly of Irish descent in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and speaks of his childhood and family’s struggles there.

His father, also Joseph Biden, was a man of modest means who went through several financial setbacks and periods of unemployment, which Biden said has made him empathise with the problems of the middle and working classes.

He is only the second Catholic to be elected President, after John Kennedy.

Biden received a Bachelor’s degree from Delaware University and followed it with a law degree from Syracuse University in New York State and briefly practised law privately and as a public defender, a government-funded lawyer for the poor.

His political career spanning more than half a century, began when in 1970 he won election to the Newcastle County Council in Delaware state where his family had relocated.

Two years later he ran successfully for the Senate, starting his 36 years as a member and eight years presiding over it during his vice-presidency.

After leaving the vice presidency, he was a professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Biden Centre for Diplomacy and Global Engagement, an institution named for him.

As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he pushed for ending sanctions against India for its 1998 nuclear test and worked with Congressional colleagues across party lines to get the landmark India-US Civil Nuclear Agreement approved by Congress in 2008.

That recognised India as a nuclear power in practical terms, effectively ending its international isolation over the tests.

His first attempt at becoming President disintegrated in 1987 amid allegations that he had plagiarised a speech.

As vice president, he should have run against Trump in 2016, but he was outmanoeuvred by the Democratic Party establishment which disastrously pushed Hillary Clinton’s candidature.

Biden had several stumbles during his political career, but his views and policies have evolved.

Along with many Right-wing and racist politicians, he opposed the school desegregation plan known as busing which involved transporting children across de-facto local racial lines of separation to schools in other areas to end racial exclusivity of schools.

Biden supported the Iraq War over false claims that it had weapons of mass destruction but claimed during the campaign that he had opposed it from the beginning. He later admitted that he “misspoke”.

He has repeatedly defended his vote for the war, but also said it was a “mistake”.

He, however, criticised how President George W. Bush conducted the war and its aftermath.

Biden was one of the promoters of the controversial Crime Control Act which ended up disproportionately hurting Africans and while it was being debated he talked of “predators” and young people “born out of wedlock, without parents, without supervision, without any structure, without any conscience developing”.

He later backtracked on the support for the law and has said during his campaign that it was a mistake.

He pulled back his immigration position and after criticising Trump as “anti-immigrant”, adopted Trump’s strategy to stem the influx of illegal immigrants threatening his election prospects.

After denigrating Trump’s warnings and policies towards China, Biden took strong economic and strategic measures against Beijing.

He recently said that India’s economy was stagnating because it was not allowing immigration while the US was prospering. In reality, India is the fastest-growing major economy, with a growth rate of seven per cent against 1.7 per cent for the US, according to the International Monetary Fund.

In a gaffe involving Indian-Americans, he had said, “You cannot go to a 7-11 or a Dunkin’ Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent. I’m not joking.”

It was seen as stereotyping Indians, who face derogatory comments about working in such occupations.

ALSO READ: Kamala Harris Praises Biden’s Legacy in Public Debut

ALSO READ: Democrats praise Biden after he quits race

US House of Representatives Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has called Biden “one of the most accomplished and consequential leaders in American history….reports Asian Lite News

Democratic Party leaders have lavished President Joe Biden with praise, calling him the “most accomplished,” “true patriot”, and “consequential leader” in American history, following his announcement to end his re-election bid just months before the November election.

US Representative Nancy Pelosi, who reportedly was one of several lawmakers nudging Biden to withdraw, has called Biden a “patriotic American” who has always put the US first.

Taking to X, Pelosi stated, “President Joe Biden is a patriotic American who has always put our country first. His legacy of vision, values and leadership make him one of the most consequential Presidents in American history. With love and gratitude to President Biden for always believing in the promise of America and giving people the opportunity to reach their fulfilment. God blessed America with Joe Biden’s greatness and goodness.”

Former US President Bill Clinton and former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also praised Biden’s service and endorsed US Vice President Kamala Harris as the presidential nominee for the Democratic Party.

“President Biden has capped his extraordinary career of service with a Presidency that has lifted America out of an unprecedented pandemic, created millions of new jobs, rebuilt a battered economy, strengthened our democracy, and restored our standing in the world. By any measure, he has advanced our founders’ charge to build a more perfect union and his own stated goal of restoring the soul of our nation. We join millions of Americans in thanking President Biden for all he has accomplished, standing up for America time and again, with his North Star always being what’s best for the country,” Bill and Hillary said in a statement posted on X.

In the joint statement, Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary Clinton, warned about the threat posed by former US President Donald Trump’s second term and stressed that it is time to support Kamala Harris.

“We are honoured to join the President in endorsing Vice President Harris and will do whatever we can to support her. We’ve lived through many ups and downs, but nothing has made us more worried for our country than the threat posed by a second Trump term. He has promised to be a dictator on day one, and the recent ruling by his servile Supreme Court will only embolden him to further shred the Constitution. Now is the time to support Kamala Harris and fight with everything we’ve got to elect her. America’s future depends on it,” they said.

US House of Representatives Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has called Biden “one of the most accomplished and consequential leaders in American history.” He also said that Biden rescued the US from the COVID-19 pandemic and brought the economy back from the brink of recession.

“President Joe Biden is one of the most accomplished and consequential leaders in American history. In less than one term, he rescued the nation from a once-in-a-century pandemic, brought the economy roaring back from the brink of recession, enacted consequential legislation for everyday Americans and saved our democracy by defeating the Insurrectionist-in-Chief. America is a better place today because President Joe Biden has led us with intellect, grace and dignity. We are forever grateful,” Jeffries stated on X.

US Representative Ro Khanna said that Biden will be remembered as an “extraordinary President,” who has put the country “ahead of self-interest” by announcing to stand out of the next presidential race.

“Biden will be remembered as an extraordinary President for starting to reverse 40+ years of economic policy that has devastated working class communities. He showed us what it means to put country first to save American democracy and now he is putting our country ahead of self interest,” Ro Khanna posted on X.

US Senator Chuck Schumer praised Joe Biden, calling him a “great president, legislative leader and a truly amazing human being.” He said that Biden’s announcement shows that he is a “true patriot and great American.”

“Joe Biden has not only been a great president and a great legislative leader but he’s a truly amazing human being. His decision of course was not easy, but he once again put his country, his party, and our future first. Joe, today shows you are a true patriot and great American,” Schumer stated on X.

Meanwhile, an emergency meeting is underway among the senior leaders of the Democratic National Committee in the wake of Biden’s announcement, sources told ANI. (ANI)

ALSO READ: Biden Bows Out

Harris, 59, would become the first Black woman to run at the top of a major-party ticket in the country’s history…reports Asian Lite News

President Joe Biden dropped his faltering reelection bid on Sunday, amid intensifying opposition within his own Democratic Party, and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to replace him as the party’s candidate against Republican Donald Trump.

Biden, 81, in a post on X, said he will remain in his role as president and commander-in-chief until his term ends in January 2025 and will address the nation this week.

“It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President. And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term,” Biden wrote.

His initial statement had not included an endorsement of Harris, but he followed up a few minutes later with an expression of support.

Biden’s campaign had been on the ropes since a disastrous June 27 debate against former President Trump, 78, in which the incumbent at times struggled to finish his thoughts.

Opposition from within Biden’s party gained steam over the past week with 36 congressional Democrats — more than one in eight members of the caucus — publicly calling on him to end his campaign.

Lawmakers said they feared he could cost them not only the White House but also the chance to control either chamber of Congress in the Nov. 5 election, leaving Democrats with no meaningful grasp on power.

That stood in sharp contrast to what played out in the Republican Party last week, when members united around Trump and his running mate US Senator J.D. Vance, 39.

Harris, 59, would become the first Black woman to run at the top of a major-party ticket in the country’s history.

Trump told CNN on Sunday that he believed Harris would be easier to defeat.

Biden had a last-minute change of heart, said a source familiar with the matter. The president told allies that as of Saturday night he planned to stay in the race before changing his mind on Sunday afternoon.

“Last night the message was proceed with everything, full speed ahead,” the source told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. “At around 1:45 p.m. today: the president told his senior team that he had changed his mind.”

Biden announced his decision on social media within minutes.

It was unclear whether other senior Democrats would challenge Harris for the party’s nomination — she was widely seen as the pick for many party officials — or whether the party itself would choose to open the field for nominations.

Congressional Republicans argued that Biden should resign the office immediately, which would turn the White House over to Harris and put House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, next in line in succession.

“If he’s incapable of running for president, how is he capable of governing right now? I mean, there is five months left in this administration. It’s a real concern, and it’s a danger to the country,” Johnson told CNN on Sunday before Biden’s announcement.

Biden’s announcement follows a wave of public and private pressure from Democratic lawmakers and party officials to quit the race after his shockingly poor debate.

His troubles took the public spotlight away from Trump’s performance, in which he made a string of false statements, and trained it instead on questions surrounding Biden’s fitness for another 4-year term.

Days later he raised fresh concerns in an interview, shrugging off Democrats’ worries and a widening gap in opinion polls, and saying he would be fine losing to Trump if he knew he’d “gave it my all.”

His gaffes at a NATO summit — invoking Russian President Vladimir Putin’s name when he meant Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and calling Harris “Vice President Trump” -further stoked anxieties.

Only four days before Sunday’s announcement, Biden was diagnosed with COVID-19, forcing him to cut short a campaign trip to Las Vegas. More than one in 10 congressional Democrats had called publicly for him to quit the race.

Biden’s historic move — the first sitting president to give up his party’s nomination for reelection since President Lyndon Johnson during the Vietnam War in March 1968 — leaves his replacement with less than four months to wage a campaign.

If Harris emerges as the nominee, the move would represent an unprecedented gamble by the Democratic Party: its first Black and Asian American woman to run for the White House in a country that has elected one Black president and never a woman president in more than two centuries.

Biden was the oldest US president ever elected when he beat Trump in 2020. During that campaign, Biden described himself as a bridge to the next generation of Democratic leaders. Some interpreted that to mean he would serve one term, a transitional figure who beat Trump and brought his party back to power.

But he set his sights on a second term in the belief that he was the only Democrat who could beat Trump again amid questions about Harris’s experience and popularity. In recent times, though, his advanced age began to show through more. His gait became stilted and his childhood stutter occasionally returned.

ALSO READ: World Leaders React to Biden’s Withdrawal

Now, several members of Biden’s party are calling for the president’s withdrawal from the presidential election..reports Asian Lite News

US President Joe Biden is facing the worst crisis of his 50-year political career.

The recent debate against rival Donald Trump seems to have confirmed some people’s worst fears. Critics said the oldest sitting president in US history is in a state of cognitive decline.

That’s because two weeks ago, Biden appeared in a nationally televised debate to be physically frail, confused and befuddled.

Now, several members of Biden’s party are calling for the president’s withdrawal from the presidential election. Over 10 Democrats in the House of Representatives have urged Biden to step aside, and Vermont Senator Peter Welch became the first Democratic senator to make this request.

“People within Biden’s own party are calling for him to step aside and let the Democratic convention pick another candidate for a three-month race against Trump,” Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Darrell West told Xinhua news agency.

On Wednesday, former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, a long-time ally of Biden, did not directly respond when asked if she supports Biden’s continuation in the campaign. Instead, she stated that “it’s up to the president to decide if he is going to run” and noted that “time is running short.”

The media chorus has been going strong for the two weeks since the debate, with a daily avalanche of opinion pieces calling on Biden to withdraw.

The New York Times’ chief White House correspondent, Peter Baker, wrote that Biden’s “halting and disjointed performance” prompted a “wave of panic among Democrats.” National Public Radio reported that private fears within the Democratic Party about Biden are “slowly going public.”

Biden hosted a major NATO summit in Washington this week. With persistent concerns within the Democratic Party, all eyes were on the president as he made a concerted effort to alleviate fears of his age and mental fitness.

In a speech before the press conference, he misnamed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as “President Putin.” During the press conference, Biden accidentally referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as “Vice President Trump.”

Biden’s press conference started later than scheduled. For about an hour, he answered questions from roughly 10 media outlets, much of which focused on whether he should continue to run for office. Biden firmly reiterated his intention to stay in the race.

Analysts said Biden answered reporters’ questions on foreign policy and NATO policy and stumbled somewhat on other answers.

Answering questions on his cognitive condition, Biden told reporters: “The only thing age does is create a little bit of wisdom.”

“No one will be satisfied no matter how many tests Biden agrees to, no matter how many interviews he does, etc.,” said Ashley Parker, a White House reporter for The Washington Post. “And again, that’s the challenge, because he needs to do something that will put this discussion about his fitness to rest, and allow the Democrats to return to talking about Trump.”

Last week, Biden appeared for an interview on the network ABC to reassure voters that he is the person for the job.

Christopher Galdieri, a political science professor at Saint Anselm College in the state of New Hampshire, told Xinhua: “To a certain extent, I think things like his ABC interview and other appearances have helped. The big problem is that none of these have been the sort of platform that the debate was. And these efforts haven’t stopped calls from elected Democrats and fundraisers for the president to bow out of the race.”

Notably, while doubts about Biden are increasing within the party, those publicly calling for his withdrawal remain in the minority, possibly due to a lack of consensus on a successor candidate.

Pushing Biden to resign abruptly could prevent any Democratic leader from uniting the party. It could lead to internal chaos, dealing a devastating blow to the Democrats in the presidential election in early November.

As Biden stated in a letter to Democratic lawmakers on Monday, there are only 42 days left until the Democratic National Convention officially announces the party’s presidential nominee and only 119 days until the general election.

“Any weakening of resolve or lack of clarity about the task ahead only helps Trump and hurts us,” Biden concluded. “It is time to come together, move forward as a unified party, and defeat Donald Trump.”

According to the latest average of polls from Real Clear Politics, Trump has received a bump in key swing states, including Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, since the debate.

Those three states are crucial to winning the election, experts said.

Trump leads Biden in several other key swing states — some by significant margins.

On Thursday night, Trump ridiculed Biden in an online post following the NATO press conference, during which Biden mistakenly referred to his vice president as Trump.

“Crooked Joe begins his ‘Big Boy’ Press Conference with, ‘I wouldn’t have picked Vice President Trump to be vice president,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social site.

“Great job, Joe!”

With Trump leading Biden in election polls, NATO countries are concerned.

“Most allies see Trump as anti-NATO and isolationist-inclined … They fear this will weaken the alliance and put in jeopardy US support for Ukraine,” William Courtney, a retired US Ambassador and adjunct senior fellow at the RAND Corporation, told Xinhua.

A report by The Hill pointed out that NATO’s next secretary general, Mark Rutte, may face his biggest challenge with the potential return of Trump to the White House.

The report noted that the increasing likelihood of Trump being re-elected will only exacerbate Europe’s concerns about the withdrawal of the United States from NATO under Trump’s leadership.

ALSO READ: Biden campaign quietly tests Harris vs. Trump in voter survey

Despite the mounting concerns, President Biden and his top aides have maintained that he will stay in the race…reports Asian Lite News

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday that “we’re all encouraging” President Biden to make a final decision on whether he will continue his re-election bid.

Pelosi emphasized in an MSNBC “Morning Joe” interview that the decision on whether President Biden will run for reelection rests with him. Urging Biden to decide soon, Pelosi highlighted his widespread respect and popularity among Democrats, although she noted she no longer holds a leadership position to gauge overall congressional support.

“We’re all encouraging him to make that decision, because time is running short,” Pelosi said.

While acknowledging Biden’s admiration and respect within the party, Pelosi refrained from explicitly endorsing his candidacy, stating, “He’s beloved, he is respected, and people want him to make that decision. Not me.”

When pressed if she personally wants Biden to run, Pelosi maintained a neutral stance, stating, “I want him to do whatever he decides to do, and that’s — that’s the way it is. Whatever he decides, we go with.”

Meanwhile, George Clooney, the Hollywood actor and influential Democratic financial supporter, has called for Biden to end his re-election campaign, arguing that the president is too old to run again.

In a New York Times guest essay published on Wednesday, Clooney wrote, “The one battle he cannot win is the fight against time. It’s devastating to say it, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fund-raiser was not the Joe ‘big F-ing deal’ Biden of 2010. He wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate.”

Last month, Clooney co-hosted a USD 28 million fund-raiser in Hollywood for Biden, which the campaign cited as the largest ever for a Democratic candidate. Now, his public plea makes him the most high-profile figure within the party to urge President Biden to withdraw from the race, as reported by The New York Times.

Despite the mounting concerns, President Biden and his top aides have maintained that he will stay in the race. On Monday, Biden reassured top donors that he would not address the debate controversy any further, though he mentioned it again during a video call with Democratic mayors on Tuesday night.

Clooney’s essay echoes the personal sentiments of many Democrats, who worry that Biden’s continued candidacy could jeopardise not only his own re-election but also the prospects of fellow Democrats in down-ballot races.

Clooney wrote, “We are not going to win in November with this president. On top of that, we won’t win the House, and we’re going to lose the Senate. This isn’t only my opinion; this is the opinion of every senator and congress member and governor that I’ve spoken with in private. Every single one, irrespective of what he or she is saying publicly.”

The actor’s stance comes at a critical juncture, as Biden had seemingly managed to stabilise his standing within the party after recent debates. However, the combination of Pelosi’s comments and Clooney’s public call for Biden to step down is likely to intensify the scrutiny on the president and his campaign.

A representative for the Biden campaign referred back to the president’s letter to congressional Democrats on Monday, in which he reiterated his commitment to stay in the race, The New York Times reported.

Notably, Biden’s health at 81 years old has raised many concerns among voters as the November elections near.

Several top House Democrats have urged President Biden to step aside from the 2024 campaign, expressing deep concerns about his potential impact on the Democratic Party’s chances in the upcoming elections, CNN reported.

Former Obama senior adviser David Axelrod too publicly called for President Biden to step aside from the 2024 race, citing concerns over Biden’s age and performance.

In an op-ed for CNN, Axelrod emphasised that he believes Biden’s duty to the country should prompt him to withdraw, suggesting that failing to do so could overshadow his legacy. Axelrod’s stance underscores growing pressures within the White House following Biden’s lacklustre showing in a recent CNN presidential debate.

ALSO READ: China hits back at NATO