Under pressure Biden to hold high-stakes presser today

WASHINGTON:

Pressure continue to mounting on US President Joe Biden to give up his teetering re-election bid, concerns grew among the Democrat circles about his age and health particularly after his debate disaster against the Republican rival Donald Trump.

And in a make-or-break moment for the fate of his re-election campaign, Biden was scheduled to address the media late on Thursday dubbed by the White House a “big boy” press conference, where he would be under close scrutiny to show he could handle a rare unscripted moment in his presidency.

Any missteps by Biden at the event could turn the trickle of Democrats who have so far urged him to abandon his 2024 election bid into a flood. The dam appeared to be breaking on Wednesday when Hollywood actor and Democratic supporter George Clooney called on Biden not to stand.

As party grandee Nancy Pelosi stopped short of backing him, around a dozen Democratic members of the House of Representatives have now openly urged the man who beat Trump four years ago to drop out, along with one Democratic senator.

Despite that, Biden now faces what CNN called the “most high-pressure presidential news conference in modern history”, exactly two weeks after his stumbling debate performance ignited a firestorm of concerns about his age, health and mental acuity.

Biden has called his debate meltdown a “bad night”, blaming it on a cold and jet lag.

He has insisted that he is committed to running in November, and with the Democratic party primary votes under his belt there is no real way of forcing him out.