{"id":34707,"date":"2024-07-07T12:03:50","date_gmt":"2024-07-07T19:03:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=34707"},"modified":"2024-07-07T12:03:51","modified_gmt":"2024-07-07T19:03:51","slug":"as-new-campaign-implores-him-to-pass-the-torch-biden-rejects-calls-to-drop-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2024\/07\/07\/as-new-campaign-implores-him-to-pass-the-torch-biden-rejects-calls-to-drop-out\/","title":{"rendered":"As New Campaign Implores Him to ‘Pass the Torch,’ Biden Rejects Calls to Drop Out"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"President<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

President Joe Biden delivers remarks at a campaign rally in Madison, Wisconsin on July 5, 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0(Photo: Kyle Mazza\/Anadolu via Getty Images)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I don’t think anybody’s more qualified to be president or win this race than me,” the incumbent declared in a televised interview.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

JAKE JOHNSON<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jul 06, 2024 (CommonDreams.org)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday delivered a defiant response to those within the Democratic Party urging him to drop out of the 2024 race, characterizing his abysmal debate performance against Donald Trump as a “bad episode” rather than validation of longstanding concerns about his age and cognitive health<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At a rally<\/a> in Wisconsin and in a later sit-down interview<\/a> with ABC News<\/em> anchor George Stephanopoulos, Biden acknowledged his poor debate showing but said emphatically that he’s staying in the race, a message that came as Democratic activists and organizers launched a campaign<\/a> imploring the president to step aside in the interest of ensuring Trump’s defeat in November.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I don’t think anybody’s more qualified to be president or win this race than me,” Biden declared Friday, downplaying recent polling data<\/a> showing him faring worse against Trump than potential Democratic alternatives, including Vice President Kamala Harris<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asked how he would feel if he stayed in the race and Trump\u2014a would-be authoritarian who’s plotting<\/a> a devastating attack on basic freedoms<\/a> and the planet<\/a>\u2014won another four years in the White House, Biden suggested he would be at peace “as long as I gave it my all.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“That’s what this is all about,” the president said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Stephanopoulos: If you stay in, and Trump is elected and everything you're warning about comes to pass, how will you feel in January?

Biden: I'll feel, as long as I gave it my all, and I did as good a job as I know I can do, that's what this is about. pic.twitter.com\/79HSyGcOI2<\/a><\/p>— nikki mccann ram\u00edrez (@NikkiMcR) July 6, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote>