Biden hits campaign trail as calls to quit pile up

US President Joe Biden returns to the campaign trail, pushing ahead with his reelection bid after a mixed performance at a major news conference failed to silence calls for him to quit.

The 81-year-old will give a speech bashing rival Donald Trump in Detroit in the rust-belt state of Michigan, a crucial battleground state that the Democrat must win in November’s election.

A defiant Mr Biden insisted in a pivotal appearance at the NATO summit that he would run again, and win – despite concerns about his age and health following a disastrous debate performance two weeks ago.

But a series of gaffes, including referring to Vice President Kamala Harris as “Vice President Trump,” kept Mr Biden’s fitness for a second term under the microscope.

‘A good friend of Ireland’ – Martin

Tánaiste Micheál Martin said that Mr Biden had put in “a very long couple of days meeting with people,” and that he is “best when he’s out on the hustings”.

He added: “Enda Kenny said that he’s a retail politician and he gets energy from people, and I certainly discovered that.

“He has been a good friend of Ireland. We all say things from time to time in interviews so I don’t worry too much about those kinds of errors.”

When asked whether Mr Biden should be running for president, Mr Martin said it was a matter for the US president himself and the Democratic Party.

Mr Martin affirmed that Mr Biden had not let Ireland down and has been a consistently positive influence on the island of Ireland.

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Undermining Biden poses threats to peace – US political consultant

US political consultant Hank Sheinkopf said that undermining Mr Biden at this time poses great threats to Europe and world peace.

He said history could repeat itself, such as in the case of former US President Lyndon Johnson in 1968, if the anti-Biden supporters within the Democratic Party do not see Mr Biden withdraw before the conclusion of the Democratic Party Convention in Chicago in August.

He said that this was the only window left to do so before autumn.

He added that the only person who can convince Mr Biden to change his mind about running in the election, is the president’s wife, Jill Biden.

“An 81-year-old person does not function like a 40-year-old, and that is the unfortunate truth,” he said.

Biden meets with senior Democrat

The top Democrat in the House of Representatives Hakeem Jeffries said he had met with Mr Biden late yesterday evening, as the number of members calling on the president to step aside rose to 20.

Mr Jeffries said he and Mr Biden “expressed the full breadth of insight, heartfelt perspectives and conclusions about the path forward” but did not give further details.

The president has faced a steady drumbeat of Democrats calling for him to abandon his 2024 candidacy since the 27 June debate, during which Mr Biden often lost his train of thought and appeared tired.

But Mr Biden has obstinately dug in and insists that he can convince voters to back him despite most polls showing him trailing the criminally convicted, twice-impeached Mr Trump.

‘Most qualified person to run for president’ – Biden

The campaign event in Detroit is his fourth trip this year to the state, part of the industrial “blue wall” along with Wisconsin and Pennsylvania that were key to his 2020 win against his rival.

Mr Biden’s speech is expected to focus on “Project 2025”, a blueprint by hardline conservatives for the first days of a Mr Trump term that Democrats have pinned on the former president, despite the 78-year-old’s denials.

The press conference yesterday appeared to buy Mr Biden some time even if it was far from a knockout blow, with three more politicians urging him to quit just minutes after it finished.

Mr Biden said he was the “most qualified person to run for president,” rejecting calls for him to step aside before the 5 November vote.

He acknowledged he had to “allay fears” in the Democratic party and should “pace myself a little more” after blaming jet lag and a cold for his stumbling debate performance.

Mr Biden also fielded a series of foreign and domestic policy questions with detailed if meandering answers and relatively few slip-ups, though he did mix up Europe and Asia.

But there were damaging moments on Thursday, with the Trump-Harris mixup and an earlier gaffe at the NATO summit in which he introduced Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky as Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The concerns over Mr Biden are also affecting Democratic donors, with Hollywood star and high-profile supporter George Clooney calling on Mr Biden to step aside on Wednesday.

A number of other key donors have told the largest Biden campaign fund that around $90m (€82.5m) in pledged donations is on hold if he carries on running.

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