Biden's participation in polls race 'depends on his wife's decision'

FE Team | Published: June 30, 2024 21:08:42

NEW YORK, June 30 (TASS/BBC): US President Joe Biden's future participation in the election race depends on his wife Jill Biden, NBC TV channel reported citing sources.
Biden is expected to discuss the future of his re-election campaign with family at Camp David on Sunday.
"The only person who has ultimate influence with him is the first lady. If she decides there should be a change of course, there will be a change of course," one of sources said. Another source confirmed that "the decision-makers are two people - it's the president and his wife."
Meanwhile, a post-debate poll by liberal pollster Data for Progress found that 62% of likely voters who watched or read about the debate found Trump won. Only 30% of those polled said Mr Biden won the debate.
Until further polling is conducted, fundraising could be another indication of continued enthusiasm for Mr Biden's candidacy.
In a memo, chairwoman Jennifer O'Malley Dillon said the campaign had raised more than $27m (£21.3m) from the Thursday debate to Friday evening.
"Following Thursday night's debate, the beltway class is counting Joe Biden out. The data in the battleground states, though, tells a different story," she said.
"This election was incredibly close before Thursday, and by every metric we've seen since, it remains just as close", she added.
US President Joe Biden has assured Democrat donors that he can still win November's presidential election against Donald Trump, after a poor debate performance fuelled concern about his candidacy.
The president, 81, attended a series of fundraising events in New York and New Jersey on Saturday, and defended his performance in CNN's Presidential Debate.
Speaking at one event, Mr Biden admitted, "I didn't have a great night, but neither did Trump" on Thursday.
"I promise you we're going to win this election," he said.
Mr Biden's debate performance was marked by hard-to-follow and shaky answers - raising fresh fears among some Democrats over whether he is the right candidate to contest this high-stakes election.
Former Democratic House speaker Nancy Pelosi said Mr Biden's debate performance "wasn't great" - while his former communications director, Kate Bedingfield, called it "really disappointing".