WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden faced more calls from fellow Democrats to abandon his re-election bid on Friday, following a news conference in which he delivered nuanced responses but occasionally stumbled over his words.
It was unclear whether Biden’s performance would convince doubters in his party that he is their best bet to defeat Republican Donald Trump in the Nov. 5 election and serve another four-year term in the White House.
At least 17 congressional Democrats so far have called for him to drop out and allow the party to pick another standard-bearer, including some who announced their positions after the news conference on Thursday night.
Democrats are worried that Biden’s low public approval ratings and growing concerns that he is too old for the job could cause them to lose seats in the House and Senate, leaving them with no grip on power in Washington should Trump win the White House.
But Biden made clear that he did not plan to step aside.
“If I show up at the convention and everybody says they want someone else, that’s the democratic process,” Biden said, before shifting to the stage whisper he often uses for emphasis to add, “It’s not gonna happen.”
Biden perhaps did not reassure those who were spooked by his poor presidential debate performance against Trump on June 27.
At one point, he referred to his vice president, Kamala Harris, as “Vice President Trump.” That came just hours after he introduced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as “President Putin” at the NATO summit, drawing gasps from those in the room.
Biden occasionally garbled his responses at the news conference, yet he also delivered detailed assessments of global issues, including Ukraine’s war with Russia and the Israel-Gaza conflict, that served as a reminder of his decades of experience on the world stage.
Some Democrats were not reassured.
“We must put forward the strongest candidate possible to confront the threat posed by Trump’s promised MAGA authoritarianism. I no longer believe that is Joe Biden,” said Representative Jim Himes of Connecticut, who called on the president to end his campaign after the news conference.
But one influential party figure, Representative James Clyburn of South Carolina, reiterated his support on Friday morning.
“I am all in. I’m riding with Biden no matter which direction he goes,” he said on NBC’s “Today” program.
A senior campaign official who spoke on condition of anonymity called the performance the “worst of all worlds. Not good. But not bad enough to make him change his mind ... It’ll give some enough cover to back him publicly, only to say he’s not up for it privately.”
Fundraiser Dmitri Melhorn said other donors told him they saw a strong performance from the president. “This is the person who can beat Trump. The mistakes are baked in and the upside is strong,” he told Reuters.
Biden will hold a rally on Friday in Detroit, where his campaign says he will focus on the “dangers” of Trump’s agenda.
The Michigan city is also headquarters of the United Auto Workers labor union, whose leaders endorsed Biden but now are assessing their options, three sources told Reuters.
With most US voters firmly divided into ideological camps, opinion polls show the race remains close.
An NBC/PBS poll released on Friday found Biden leading Trump 50 percent to 48 percent, a slight increase from his position before the debate. Biden fared slightly worse than Trump when third-party candidates were included in the questioning.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll released last week found Biden and Trump tied at 40 percent each. But some nonpartisan analysts have warned that Biden is losing ground in the handful of competitive states that will determine the outcome of the election.
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Biden faces more pressure from Democrats to abandon re-election bid
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Biden faces more pressure from Democrats to abandon re-election bid
- It was unclear whether Biden’s performance would convince doubters in his party that he is their best bet to defeat Republican Donald Trump
- At least 17 congressional Democrats so far have called for him to drop out
Campaigning starts for Bangladesh’s first national election after Hasina’s ouster
DHAKA: Campaigning began Thursday for Bangladesh’s first national elections since the 2024 uprising that ousted longtime Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The major political parties held campaign rallies in the capital, Dhaka, and elsewhere ahead of Feb. 12 election, which is seen as the most consequential in Bangladesh’s history as it follows Hasina’s ouster and is being held under an interim government with voters also deciding on proposed political reforms.
The interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus has pledged to hold a free and fair election, but questions were raised after his administration banned Hasina’s former ruling Awami League party. The Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party have historically dominated the country’s electorate.
There are also concerns about the country’s law and order situation, but the government says they will keep the voting peaceful.
Yunus assumed office three days after Hasina left the country for India on Aug. 5, 2024, following the deaths of hundreds of protesters and others in a violent crackdown.
With the Awami League excluded from the election, a 10-party alliance led by Jamaat-e-Islami, an Islamist party, is seeking to expand its influence. Jamaat-e-Islami has long faced criticism from secular groups who say its positions challenge Bangladesh’s secular foundations. A new party formed by student leaders of the uprising, the National Citizen Party, or NCP, is also part of the alliance.
Tarique Rahman, BNP chairman and the son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, is widely seen as a leading contender for prime minister. His party has drawn strong support rooted in the political legacy of his mother, who died last month. Rahman returned to Bangladesh last month after 17 years in exile in the United Kingdom.
Rahman launched his campaign in the northeastern city of Sylhet with an address to thousands of supporters at a rally Thursday. He is scheduled to visit several other districts in the coming days.
In Sylhet, Rahman criticized the Jamaat-e-Islami party for using religious sentiment to get votes. He said that if elected, he would uphold national sovereignty and work for women and young people.
“Now we must establish the right to vote, rebuild the nation, and make it economically self-reliant,” he said.
Jamaat-e-Islami and the NCP began their campaigns in the capital, Dhaka.
“There are terrorism (crimes), extortion, corruption and forcible possession, (our fight) is against them to establish a just Bangladesh, and alongside to build a safe Dhaka for women and children,” said Nasiruddin Patwari, a leader of the National Citizen Party.
The election will also include a referendum on a national charter, with the interim government seeking voter support for what it describes as a new political course built on reforms. The charter was signed last year by 25 of the country’s 52 registered political parties. The Awami League opposed the idea and several other parties declined to sign the document.
Rahman’s return has reenergized his supporters.
“Under his leadership, in the coming time we want to see a self-reliant Bangladesh and organizing this country through a democratic process,” said Ali Akbar Rajan, a BNP supporter, at Rahman’s rally in Sylhet. “He will emerge as a successful statesman, that is what we hope for,“
The July National Charter, named after the uprising that began in July 2024 and led to the fall of Hasina, is currently nonbinding. Supporters of the charter say a referendum is needed to make it legally binding and a part of the constitution. Only Parliament can change the constitution in Bangladesh.
The interim government says the charter would bring more checks and balances to avoid authoritarian administrations, including by giving the presidency more authority to balance what had been a powerful prime minister position. It also proposes term limits for legislators, and measures to prevent conflicts of interest, money laundering and corruption.
The major political parties held campaign rallies in the capital, Dhaka, and elsewhere ahead of Feb. 12 election, which is seen as the most consequential in Bangladesh’s history as it follows Hasina’s ouster and is being held under an interim government with voters also deciding on proposed political reforms.
The interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus has pledged to hold a free and fair election, but questions were raised after his administration banned Hasina’s former ruling Awami League party. The Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party have historically dominated the country’s electorate.
There are also concerns about the country’s law and order situation, but the government says they will keep the voting peaceful.
Yunus assumed office three days after Hasina left the country for India on Aug. 5, 2024, following the deaths of hundreds of protesters and others in a violent crackdown.
With the Awami League excluded from the election, a 10-party alliance led by Jamaat-e-Islami, an Islamist party, is seeking to expand its influence. Jamaat-e-Islami has long faced criticism from secular groups who say its positions challenge Bangladesh’s secular foundations. A new party formed by student leaders of the uprising, the National Citizen Party, or NCP, is also part of the alliance.
Tarique Rahman, BNP chairman and the son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, is widely seen as a leading contender for prime minister. His party has drawn strong support rooted in the political legacy of his mother, who died last month. Rahman returned to Bangladesh last month after 17 years in exile in the United Kingdom.
Rahman launched his campaign in the northeastern city of Sylhet with an address to thousands of supporters at a rally Thursday. He is scheduled to visit several other districts in the coming days.
In Sylhet, Rahman criticized the Jamaat-e-Islami party for using religious sentiment to get votes. He said that if elected, he would uphold national sovereignty and work for women and young people.
“Now we must establish the right to vote, rebuild the nation, and make it economically self-reliant,” he said.
Jamaat-e-Islami and the NCP began their campaigns in the capital, Dhaka.
“There are terrorism (crimes), extortion, corruption and forcible possession, (our fight) is against them to establish a just Bangladesh, and alongside to build a safe Dhaka for women and children,” said Nasiruddin Patwari, a leader of the National Citizen Party.
The election will also include a referendum on a national charter, with the interim government seeking voter support for what it describes as a new political course built on reforms. The charter was signed last year by 25 of the country’s 52 registered political parties. The Awami League opposed the idea and several other parties declined to sign the document.
Rahman’s return has reenergized his supporters.
“Under his leadership, in the coming time we want to see a self-reliant Bangladesh and organizing this country through a democratic process,” said Ali Akbar Rajan, a BNP supporter, at Rahman’s rally in Sylhet. “He will emerge as a successful statesman, that is what we hope for,“
The July National Charter, named after the uprising that began in July 2024 and led to the fall of Hasina, is currently nonbinding. Supporters of the charter say a referendum is needed to make it legally binding and a part of the constitution. Only Parliament can change the constitution in Bangladesh.
The interim government says the charter would bring more checks and balances to avoid authoritarian administrations, including by giving the presidency more authority to balance what had been a powerful prime minister position. It also proposes term limits for legislators, and measures to prevent conflicts of interest, money laundering and corruption.
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