Washington [US], July 3: On July 2, Mr. Lloyd Doggett became the first US Democratic congressman to publicly call on President Joe Biden to withdraw from the race for the White House, according to AFP.
"Recognizing that, unlike former US President Donald Trump, President Biden 's first commitment has always been to our country, not himself, I hope he will make the difficult and painful decision to withdraw. I respectfully urge him to do so," Congressman Lloyd Doggett stressed in a statement, according to AFP.
Mr. Doggett made the above call after President Biden was said to have performed poorly in the debate with Mr. Trump on the evening of June 27.
Other Democrats are openly worried that Mr Biden is not good enough to defeat Mr Trump in the November election. Reuters quoted a source close to the US House of Representatives Democrats revealing that 25 representatives of the party are preparing to call on Mr Biden to withdraw if he looks shaky in the coming days.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted after the debate on June 27 showed that one-third of Democrats think Mr. Biden should end his re-election bid.
Also on July 2, former Democratic Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi said it was "legitimate" to raise concerns about President Biden's ability to run for office, according to AFP.
Meanwhile, speaking at a campaign rally in Virginia on the evening of July 2, President Biden admitted that he did not perform at his best in the debate on the evening of June 27, but said he was affected by jet lag after two foreign trips.
US Vice President Kamala Harris, the leading candidate to replace Mr Biden if he drops out of the race, said she was proud to be on the president's ticket. "We beat Mr Trump once and we will beat him again," she declared.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper