GOP convention abuzz over Biden's health, possible replacement on Democratic ticket

US President Joe Biden's Covid diagnosis was reported in the midst of this week's Republican convention, lighting up attendees' phones as they were making their rounds to different events in downtown Milwaukee.

The news broke on the same day that US Senator J.D. Vance gave his speech on the convention floor as former President Donald Trump's newly chosen running mate, at 39 making him one of the youngest VP candidates. His choice comes as the Republicans are focused on uniting their party following the attempted assassination of Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday.

Democrats, on that other hand, have long been struggling with party unity under Biden, most obviously for the last nine months over Israel's war in Gaza. But it now appears that behind the scenes there have long been concerns about the president's health and his ability, at 81, to handle the rigours of a presidential campaign and to serve another four years.

To many Republicans, issues over Biden's physical and mental health come as no surprise, given the conservative media's long-time regular coverage questioning his fitness for office.

"People get their information from certain sources. We're all guilty of this. We're all guilty of observer bias, and we receive information that confirms those biases," said Shelley Sekula-Gibbs, a medical doctor from the Houston area who has served in public office, including briefly in US Congress.

She told The New Arab that for Republicans like herself who watch conservative news outlets, they could see Biden's decline months, possibly years, ago. But for those getting their news from more liberal sources, they were not seeing this same level of decline being reported.

"I think many Democrats had no clue until the debate how debilitated President Biden had become. It was eyes wide shut before that, and they were forced to realise he's really suffering," she said.

Biden's apparent decline following his poor debate performance, and now his Covid diagnosis that has led to his campaign cancelling upcoming events, has cast a harsh spotlight on the liberal and mainstream media, which for years have largely been seen as credible, often self-critical, with conservatives often citing the major news outlets for reference. Now, questions are being raised about who knew what and when, in both the media and in Biden's inner circles.

As a medical doctor, Sekula-Gibbs is hesitant to suggest age limits for the presidency, given the varying rates at which people age, though she believes tests to assess their physical and mental health, if done sensitively, could be beneficial. She suggests term limits for Congress members could help prevent similar situations.

Like many from both parties, Stephen Pakradooni, a resident of New Jersey and a guest of the Florida delegation, is frustrated that Biden's apparent decline, particularly with recent reports indicating this could have been taking place for a while, is only now being openly discussed.

"I think it's a disgrace that it lasted this long, that the Democrats didn't replace him beforehand. The country should always come first, and if it was on the Republican side, I'd be saying the exact same thing," he told TNA, adding that he believes it would make sense for Vice President Kamala Harris to step in as Biden's natural replacement on the ticket.

"She'd do a much better job than Joe Biden, that's for sure, but the bar is set very low. When your own party is telling you to get out of the way, get out of the way. It's the best for the country," he said, referring to reports of high-level Democrats calling on Biden to step down from the Democratic ticket.

"They wanna replace him, they can replace him. It doesn't make a difference. Donald Trump is gonna win the election in November. For right now, who's running the country in day to day operations up until January 20th of 2025, until a new president is installed?" he asked.

It is a question that many people across the political spectrum are asking, though likely with more comfort from the Republican convention, where the party is united around Trump and his newly picked running mate, Vance.

"I will say that we as Republicans are as united as ever," Diezel DePew, the 20-year-old mayor of Edgewater, Florida, told TNA. He added that he expects Biden's health to only decline further, especially with the unusually stressful nature of a presidential campaign.

He said. "I'm very glad Trump chose a younger VP. Younger people like myself should get more involved in politics."