Democrats in retreat on calls for Biden to stand down

Joe Biden’s Democrat critics retreated on their calls for him to stand down on Tuesday, as a push to remove him as the party’s presidential nominee appeared to have stalled.

Democrats held a meeting on Capitol Hill to respond to the US president’s poor performance in a television debate against Donald Trump, which led to major concerns about his health and the viability of his campaign.

Mr Biden has dared his critics to challenge him for the nomination, declaring that he will not be “pushed out” of the race because he is too old.

On Tuesday, Jerry Nadler, a New York senator who called for Mr Biden to stand down in a private call on Sunday, said that his concerns were “beside the point”.

He said: “He’s going to be our nominee, and we all have to support him.”

Mark Warner, a senator who previously tried to bring Democrats into a crisis meeting about Mr Biden’s future, said while there were “questions that needed to be asked”, it was up to the president “to more aggressively make his case to the American people”.

The push by some Democrats to remove Mr Biden has failed to attract the backing of senior party members, whose support would be needed for a coup to succeed.

Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives and Senate, have not joined the calls from more junior colleagues for him to step back.

Some party grandees, including Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, have made statements in support of Mr Biden’s campaign, while Nancy Pelosi, the former speaker of the House of Representatives, has walked back comments in which she said there were “legitimate” questions about his age.

The White House has spent almost two weeks locked in a bitter battle with Mr Biden’s critics, who began calling for him to stand down as soon as the debate with Trump finished.

Mr Biden worsened fears about his age in an interview with ABC News on Friday, in which he repeatedly ruled out taking a cognitive test, and said only the “Lord Almighty” could tell him to withdraw his nomination.

Allies of Kamala Harris, the vice-president, have been talking up the possibility of her replacing Mr Biden on the Democratic ticket in November, but Ms Harris has said he should not stand down.

On Monday, the US government released a letter explaining why a leading neurologist had visited the White House eight times in the last year, after it was suggested Mr Biden may have received treatment for Parkinson’s disease.

Dr Kevin Cannard, the neurologist, was treating US troops stationed in the building, the letter said.

Some Democrats remain concerned about polls showing Mr Biden is significantly less popular than his colleagues running in congressional races in swing states.

A survey conducted by AARP and released on Tuesday found Mr Biden had the support of 38 per cent of voters in Wisconsin, six percentage points behind Trump, while Tammy Baldwin, the Democratic senator, had the support of 50 per cent against her Republican rival.

Mr Biden was due to meet with Democratic mayors on Tuesday night after addressing leaders of the US’s Nato allies in Washington. 

He has been criticised for taking too long to engage with elected members of his party after the concerns about his age first emerged.