Amid growing calls to drop out, US president Joe Biden remains defiant

Two weeks after a shockingly poor debate performance, US president Joe Biden is defiantly remaining in the presidential election race amid growing calls from his own party to end his bid for a second term.

A press conference he held Thursday evening during this week's NATO summit in Washington did little to assure sceptics that he'll be able to beat former president Donald Trump in November.

Despite a much more energetic performance at the press conference, with many of his supporters pointing out his detailed answers to foreign policy questions, whatever improvements he was able to show compared with two weeks ago were largely overshadowed by his gaffes. 

At one point (prior to fielding questions from reporters), he introduced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as (Russian President Vladimir) Putin. He later referred to his vice president, Kamala Harris, as Vice President Trump.

"I would say it was better than the debate, but I don't know if that's saying much," J. Miles Coleman, associate editor of Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics, told The New Arab.

"What's going to be talked about the most from his opposition is him calling Trump his VP," he said. "He's a foreign policy guy. When they were on topics he's passionate about, like NATO, he got energetic. He did give some long-winded answers. I don't know if it's going to quiet the voices saying he should drop out, but at this point he's in survival mode."

Indeed, with every day that passes, Biden is facing growing calls from Democrats to drop out of the race for president. What began two weeks ago as whispers, has grown into multiple members of Congress stating publicly that they think Biden should end his re-election bid. So far, 14 congressional Democrats have said they think Biden should drop out of the race, and many more are rumoured to be saying so privately.

For some Democrats in swing states, there are fears that Biden's name on the ballot could drag them down. Republicans have already started running attack ads accusing Democrats of hiding what is now widely seen as Biden's mental and physical decline.

Meanwhile, a recent Washington Post/ABC News/Ipsos poll shows that the majority of American voters want Biden to drop out of the race, mainly because of his age.

In possibly another serious concern for Biden's campaign, the Washington Post reported this week that some of the country's top union leaders are raising questions about Biden's ability to beat Trump.

This loss of support is, of course, on top of widespread defections by constituents over his support for Netanyahu in Israel's war in Gaza. 

If politicians, voters and major organisations aren't enough to convince Biden that he should drop out of the race, then maybe donors will the final straw. 

This week, actor George Clooney, a major Biden donor and fundraising organiser, penned an op-ed in The New York Times urging Biden to drop out, saying he no longer had the energy to take on a second term as president. Another big donor, Abigail Disney, an heiress to the animation studio, said she would be withholding funding from Biden following his debate performance.

"Watch the money. If the money dries up, the campaign dries up," Andrew Smith, director of the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, told TNA. "It's always the money. If there's no money, you gotta pack up and go home. Do they think they've made a good investment, or do they jump ship?"

Whatever is decided, it will need to be done in a relatively short period. It would be difficult to switch to a new candidate after the Democratic convention. Republicans are reportedly already getting ready to legally challenge the Democrats if Biden is replaced by another candidate.

Moreover, the longer Biden stays in the race while continuing to make slip-ups, the more time it gives his opponents to organise against him.

"I don't know why this is dragging on. I thought it would end quickly with Biden dropping out after the debate," Smith said. "The longer it drags on with no solution, it's probably for the worst. In politics, if you're explaining, you're already losing. The right answer is to make it stop one way or another."