USA 2024: – 116, ‘Leave!’, the chorus to Biden from notables, elected officials, donors and Hollywood

The NATO summit has sheltered President Joe Biden for just one day from pressure from influential party and union leaders, supporters, and Democratic donors to withdraw from the race for USA 2024, paving the way for a more energetic – and above all younger – candidate. In the liberal media, the tam-tam is continuous: the outbursts of George Clooney, the very popular face of American show business and Democratic Hollywood, and Nancy Pelosi, a ‘grand old woman’ of the Democratic elite, are making noise. To embarrass the president, a video was stolen from journalist George Stephanopoulos, who conducted last week’s Abc interview.

Tuesday. There was a consultation between senators and deputies, during which many did not speak and after which hardly anyone made a public statement. However, Senator Michael Bennet told CNN that he did not believe Biden could win the US 2024 and, on the contrary, feared that Donald Trump could ‘take it by storm’.

For the Washington Post, which speaks of a closed-door meeting of Biden with Democratic leaders, the latter demanded convincing evidence from the president and his campaign of a viable path to victory in the election. This request is almost impossible to fulfill, at least until 5 November.

The leaders, the newspaper writes, have expressed serious doubts about Biden’s ability to win. Perplexity and uncertainty seem to be creeping into the president-candidate’s own campaign, where there is an awareness that defections could continue in the coming weeks, until they become avalanches.

Peter Welch is the first Democratic senator to come out of the closet and ask the president to step down, with a comment in the Washington Post: ‘I deeply respect Biden,’ Welch writes, ‘who “saved us from Donald Trump”; but, now, “for the good of the country he must step down”. And Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer is reportedly ready to dump the president, to whom he flaunts support in public. Gathering ideas and suggestions from Democratic donors privately on what they believe would be the best solution for the party, Schumer has reportedly indicated that he is open to a non-Biden-led ticket.

The Democratic presidential campaign has already suffered a slowdown in strong donations and is preparing for a further setback. “It’s a disaster,” a source tells NBC. The worries go beyond the presidential game: a Biden defeat could, in fact, affect the election results for the House and Senate and also those for control of state assemblies, crucial on the abortion front.

The only good thing for the Democrats at this confusing stage is that the uncertainty over Biden effectively clears the media of the Trump campaign, which is about to announce his deputy – he is expected to do so before the Republican convention in Milwaukee next week – and which, meanwhile, intensifies criticism and attacks on Kamala Harris, Biden’s deputy, who could – it is speculation – take his place.

Trump criticises Harris for her handling of immigration and says: ‘If Joe had chosen someone even remotely competent as his deputy they would have kicked him out years ago, but they can’t, because she’s the second option’.

USA 2024: Clooney’s words, Pelosi’s wisdom, Stephanopoulos’ carelessness
George Clooney calls on Biden to withdraw from the USA 2024 race. “He can’t win his battle against time. None of us can. It’s terrible to say, but the Joe Biden I got together with three weeks ago for a fundraiser was not the Joe Biden of 2010. He was not the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same person we saw at the debate.” Says Clooney in the New York Times. The actor was one of the facilitators of the fundraiser Biden attended in Los Angeles after the G7.

‘I love Joe Biden, but we need a new candidate,’ Clooney continues. At the debate ‘was he tired? Yes. A cold? Maybe. But our party leaders need to stop telling us they haven’t seen what 51 million people have seen. We are so terrified by the prospect of a second term for Donald Trump that we have chosen to ignore all signs… The interview with George Stephanopoulos only reinforced what we had seen the week before… We are not winning with this candidate. We will not win the House and we will lose the Senate. This is not just my opinion: this is the opinion of every senator, congressman, and governor I have spoken to in private.”

Stephanopoulos himself, the host of Biden’s Abc interview, fell into a trap: stopped on the street in New York by a passer-by who asked him about Biden’s health, Stephanopoulos expressed his doubts: ‘He cannot serve another four years’. The video, secretly filmed of the passerby, was obtained by TMZ and went viral. ‘I answered a passer-by’s question. I shouldn’t have,’ Stephanopoulos commented in a note.

More measured, but clear, Nancy Pelosi, 84, speaker of the House until her 83rd birthday: she says ‘It’s up to the president to decide whether to run. We are all encouraging him to make a decision. The clock is ticking … I want him to do what he decides. I tell everybody to wait to put what they think on the table until we see how this week goes … I’m very proud of the president.” Pelosi is the highest-ranking Democrat to have spoken out so far, albeit cautiously.