Washington, July 19: After testing COVID-19 positive, US President Joe Biden said he could drop his reelection bid if doctors found he had a medical condition, said a top Democrat on Wednesday.
For the first time, Biden seemed slightly open to abandoning the White House race as Representative Adam Schiff, a key ally from California, urged him to “pass the torch”.
“A second Trump presidency will undermine the very foundation of our democracy, and I have serious concerns about whether the President can defeat Donald Trump in November,” Schiff said.
Speaking to the Black media outlet BET, Biden said, “If I had some medical condition that emerged, if somebody, if the doctors came and said ‘you’ve got this problem, that problem”.
However, the US President defended his decision to stay on for a rematch with Republican Donald Trump, which was scheduled for November. Biden further explained why he had not handed over to a younger generation after one term.
“I said I was going to be a transitional candidate, and I thought I’d be able to move on from this, pass it on to someone else. But I didn’t anticipate things getting so, so, so divided,” he said as quoted by AFP.
Biden has been fighting for political survival since a disastrous debate against Donald Trump nearly three weeks ago, in which his tired and confused appearance sparked concerns about his age. He was set to make a fresh attempt to prop up his candidacy in a speech to crucial Latino voters in the battleground state of Nevada later Wednesday.
Biden tested positive for COVID-19 and experienced mild symptoms, including “general malaise,” while travelling to Las Vegas for the presidential election campaign. He will now fly to his home in Delaware for “self-isolation” and will continue to carry out his duties during that time period.
