President Joe Biden continues to insist he isn't going anywhere, even as prominent Democrats and public figures urge him to bow out of a race that, at the moment, he appears poised to lose.
KNX News Chief Correspondent Charles Feldman talked with Sacramento Mayor Darryl Steinberg, who was on a conference call with Biden and other Democratic mayors on Tuesday. Steinberg said the president sounded much better than he did during the June 28 debate, when he struggled to complete sentences and bafflingly claimed to have “finally beat Medicare.”
“The president was strong, he was full of energy, he was well-spoken, and very detailed actually about his plans for a second term,” Steinberg said.
Of course, the concern among many Democratic lawmakers and an overwhelming majority of voters is whether Biden is mentally fit to carry out his plans for the next four years.
Steinberg said he respects everyone who has expressed those concerns, and that the “open discussion” going on within the Democratic party is “a sign of strength.”
“It's not about loyalty to Joe Biden, but it's about the fact that he won the primary and he's saying he's running,” he added.
It should be noted that Biden was the only serious candidate in this year’s Democratic primary, and in some states, he was the only candidate on the ballot at all. In Michigan, the president lost two delegates to “uncommitted.”
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Steinberg said he agreed with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who said Wednesday that it’s “up to the president to decide” whether to stay in the race.
“She believes and hopes that he will take into account all that he is hearing from people of goodwill and good faith from the Democratic Party,” Steinberg said.
On Thursday evening, Biden plans to hold his first press conference since the debate as he attempts to hold onto his party’s support.
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