Pushing Biden to withdraw from the 2024 presidential contest

More Democrats urged President Joe Biden to withdraw his reelection campaign on Friday following his press conference, during which he provided thoughtful responses but occasionally stammered over his remarks.

Thus far, at least seventeen congressional Democrats have demanded that he step down so that the party may select a new standard-bearer. Several of them made their announcements during the news conference on Thursday night.

In the event that Trump wins the presidency, Democrats fear they would lose control of the House and Senate due to Biden’s poor public approval ratings and mounting worries that he is too elderly for the position.

But Biden made it clear he didn’t plan to step aside. «If I show up at the convention and everybody says they want somebody else, that’s the democratic process,» Biden said, before switching to the whisper he often uses for emphasis and adding, «That’s not going to happen.»

Biden perhaps did not reassure those who were spooked by his poor performance in the presidential debate 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 Volodimir Zelenski as «President Putin» at the NATO summit, eliciting gasps from those in the room.