After a shaky debate performance on Thursday night, political analysts and several US media organisations have been calling for US President Joe Biden to drop out of the 2024 election race. Democratic leaders rallied behind Mr Biden following his poor performance last week, as the White House denied a report he was meeting with family to assess his candidacy. Now, his wife and First Lady Jill Biden has spoken about the debate and has said that they "will continue to fight".
Talking to Vogue from Camp David where the family was spending the weekend, she told the magazine "will not let those 90 minutes define the four years he's been president."
She continued, "We will continue to fight," and claimed that Mr Biden "will always do what's best for the country."
Notably, President Biden's age is a particular concern with voters and there have been calls from some Democrats for him to step aside for a new candidate. Despite weak poll numbers and questions about his age, he has stuck to his plan to seek a second term.
On June 27, the 81-year-old's performance in the presidential debate, rekindled calls for him to step away. When responding to a question about the economy posed by a CNN anchor, the POTUS, who is often observed stuttering and freezing during public events, seemed to lose his train of thought. When asked if voters felt "worse off" under his presidency, the Democrat committed yet another error.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden said after the debate that he would defeat Republican rival Donald Trump in the presidential election, giving no sign he would consider dropping out of the race. He said, "I know I'm not a young man, to state the obvious. I don't walk as easy as I used to, I don't speak as smoothly as I used to, I don't debate as well as I used to."
"I would not be running again if I didn't believe with all my heart and soul that I could do this job. The stakes are too high," he said at a rally.
