ExplainerWhat 4 things could make Joe Biden drop out of the White House race?
- Despite pressure from his party, the US president insists he will run for re-election. Here are some clues to what could make him step aside
US President Joe Biden has made it clear basically any which way you ask him: he is definitely, assuredly, “one thousand per cent” staying in the presidential race.
But in response to questions from journalists over the last few weeks, the embattled Democratic president has given some clues as to what could make him step aside – especially as the calls from his own party to end his candidacy continue unabated.
Here are the things Biden has cited – some serious, others not – that would make him reconsider his run:
Divine intervention
It was a defiant answer that indicated Biden had no intention whatsoever of dropping out.
During an ABC News interview that marked the first major test of his fitness for office, anchor George Stephanopoulos asked the 81-year-old Biden whether he had convinced himself that only he could defeat his Republican opponent, Donald Trump.
“I have convinced myself of two things,” Biden said. “I’m the most qualified person to beat him, and I know how to get things done.”
Stephanopoulos pressed a little further: “If you can be convinced that you cannot defeat Donald Trump, will you stand down?”