US President Joe Biden has made it clear basically any which way you ask him: he's definitely, assuredly, one thousand per cent staying in the presidential race. But in response to questions from journalists over the last few weeks, the embattled Democratic president has given some clues as to what could make him step aside especially as the calls from his own party to end his candidacy continue unabated. Here are the things Biden has cited some serious, others not that would make him reconsider his run: Divine intervention It was a defiant answer that indicated Biden had no intention whatsoever of dropping out. During an ABC News interview that marked the first major test of his fitness for office, anchor George Stephanopoulos asked the 81-year-old Biden whether he had convinced himself that only he could defeat his Republican opponent, Donald Trump. I have convinced myself of two things, Biden said. I'm the most qualified person to beat him, and I know how to get things ...
California Rep. Adam Schiff on Wednesday became the highest-profile Democrat to call for President Joe Biden to drop his reelection bid, as the party pushed ahead with plans to hold a virtual vote to formally make Biden its nominee in the first week of August before the party's convention opens in person two weeks later. The move to schedule the roll call vote comes after nearly 20 Democratic members of Congress have called on Biden to withdraw from the presidential race in the wake of his halting debate performance against Republican former President Donald Trump last month. Among Democrats nationwide, nearly two-thirds say Biden should step aside and let his party nominate a different candidate, according to an AP-NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research poll released Wednesday, sharply undercutting his post-debate claim that average Democrats are still with him even if some big names are turning on him. While the choice to withdraw from the campaign is President Biden's alone, I ..
An influential American lawmaker has applauded President Joe Biden for signing into law a bill which enhances US support for Tibet and promotes dialogue between China and the Dalai Lama toward a peaceful resolution of the dispute over the status and governance of the remote Himalayan region. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul on Wednesday said he is "extremely pleased" that President Biden has signed the Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Dispute Act into law, "despite the administration's failure to take a position on recognising any future Dalai Lama or implementing the Tibet Policy Act of 2002". Last month, McCaul led a congressional delegation to India, sparking anger from China, to highlight the bipartisan support in the US Congress for Tibet, just days after the House-version of this bill passed the House. The CCP will stop at nothing to undermine and erase Tibetan culture and strip the Tibetan people of their right to self-determination. It was my
US President Joe Biden has tested positive for COVID-19 and is experiencing mild symptoms, the White House said on Thursday. Earlier today following his first event in Las Vegas, President Biden tested positive for COVID-19. He is vaccinated and boosted and he is experiencing mild symptoms, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement. Biden will be returning to Delaware where he will self-isolate and will continue to carry out all of his duties fully during that time. The White House will provide regular updates on the president's status as he continues to carry out the full duties of the office while in isolation, she said. The president was scheduled to speak at the Unidos event in Las Vegas on Wednesday afternoon. His symptoms remain mild, his respiratory rate is normal at 16, his temperature is normal at 97.8 and his pulse oximetry is normal at 97%. The President has received his first dose of Paxlovid. He will be self-isolating at his home in Rehoboth, t
Four days after a gunman's attempt to assassinate former US president Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania rally, the public is still in the dark over the extent of his injuries, what treatment the Republican presidential nominee received in the hospital, and whether there may be any long-term effects on his health. Trump's campaign has refused to discuss his condition, release a medical report or records, or make the doctors who treated him available, leaving information to dribble out from Trump, his friends and family. The first word on Trump's condition came about half an hour after shots rang out and Trump dropped to the ground after reaching for his ear and then pumped his fist defiantly to the crowd with blood streaming down his face. The campaign issued a statement saying he was fine" and being checked out at a local medical facility. More details will follow, his spokesperson said. It wasn't until 8:42 pm, however, that Trump told the public he had been struck by a bullet as ...
Ukraine will find a way to battle Russia's invading forces even if former President Donald Trump wins a second term and imperils vital US support for its defence, Ukraine's defence minister said Wednesday. In carefully framed comments to an audience of US policymakers and journalists, Defence Minister Rustem Umerov reflected the diplomatic and military difficulty facing Ukraine as Trump and running mate JD Vance gain momentum in the US presidential race. Vance, an Ohio senator, has battled in Congress to block US military and financial aid to Ukraine as it fights Russian forces and cross-border attacks, while Trump has said he will bring the war to an immediate end if he wins in November. Trump, a Republican, has not said how he would do that. Analysts say that could include withdrawal of US aid to Ukraine unless it agrees to a cease-fire on Russian terms, including surrendering Ukrainian territory to Russia. We believe in US leadership, and we believe America wants its partners an
Making his maiden appearance before the Republican National Convention, Indian-American entrepreneur-turned-politician Vivek Ramaswamy has asked Americans to vote for former president Donald Trump to revive national pride and reignite the economy. Ramaswamy, 38, a former presidential aspirant who dropped off from the race in the early stages of the Republican primary, said Trump is the president who will unite America not through empty words but through action. If you want to seal the border, vote Trump. If you want to restore law and order, vote Trump. If you want to reignite our economy, vote for Trump. If you want to revive national pride, vote for Trump. If you want to make America great again, vote for Trump, he said. Ramaswamy's fiery speech attracted multiple standing ovations and the biggest applause from the thousands of delegates and party leaders who have gathered in this city to nominate Trump as their nominee for the November 5 presidential election. Success is unifyin
On the floor of the Republican National Convention Tuesday evening, vice presidential candidate JD Vance greeted and shook hands with excited delegates as he walked toward his seat. It was a marked contrast from former President Donald Trump, who entered the hall a few minutes later and was separated from supporters by a column of Secret Service agents. His ear still bandaged after an attempted assassination, Trump closely hugged the wall. Instead of handshakes or hellos for those gathered, he offered fist pumps to the cameras. The contrast underscores the new reality facing Trump after a gunman opened fire at his rally in Pennsylvania Saturday, raising serious questions about the agency that is tasked with protecting the president, former presidents and major-party candidates. Trump's campaign must also adjust to a new reality after he came millimeters from death or serious injury - and as law enforcement warns of the potential for more political violence. Trump campaign officials
After three days, an enigmatic portrait emerged of the 20-year-old man who came close to killing former President Donald Trump with a high-velocity bullet: He was an intelligent loner with few friends, an apparently thin social media footprint and no hints of strong political beliefs that would suggest a motive for an attempted assassination. Even after the FBI cracked into Thomas Matthew Crooks' cellphone, scoured his computer, home and car, and interviewed more than 100 people, the mystery of why he opened fire on Trump's rally Saturday, a bullet grazing the GOP nominee's ear, remained as elusive as the moment it happened. He sat by himself, didn't talk to anyone, didn't even try to make conversation, said 17-year-old Liam Campbell, echoing the comments of classmates who remembered the shooter in this quiet community outside of Pittsburgh. He was an odd kid, but nothing about him seemed dangerous, he added. Just a normal person who seemed like he didn't like talking to people. So
Long before a would-be assassin shot and wounded former President Donald Trump, the fuse of political violence had been burning across America. Members of Congress have been shot. One lawmaker's staffers in Virginia were attacked with a baseball bat. In Louisville, a bullet grazed the mayor's sweater after someone stormed into his campaign office. Someone put a tracking device on the Reno mayor's car. Officials in South Carolina received death threats over a solar panel plant. And outside Buffalo, a man threw a dummy pipe bomb through the window of a county clerk candidate's home while her family slept with a message reading: If you don't drop out of this race, the next pipe bomb will be real. There are people who've come to me and said, I contemplated running for my town office, and I could never imagine my family going through what you did, so I chose not to,' said Melissa Hartman, who was targeted in the pipe bomb episode and ran for county clerk after serving as town supervisor
Biden called for taking the weapons out from the streets of America, as he went on to criticise Trump's policies simultaneously
A threat on Donald Trump's life from Iran prompted additional security in the days before Saturday's campaign rally, but it was unrelated to the assassination attempt on the Republican presidential nominee, two US officials said Tuesday, as law enforcement warned of the potential for more violence inspired by the shooting. National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said officials have been tracking Iranian threats against Trump administration officials for years, dating back to the last administration. Trump ordered the 2020 killing of Qassem Soleimani, who led the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force. These threats arise from Iran's desire to seek revenge for the killing of Qassem Soleimani. We consider this a national and homeland security matter of the highest priority, Watson said. The US Secret Service and the Trump campaign were made aware of the latest threat, prompting a surge in resources and assets, according to the officials, who spoke on the
Robert F Kennedy Jr apologised Tuesday after a video was posted online showing part of a private phone call between the independent presidential candidate and Republican former President Donald Trump. The video shows Kennedy listening on a speakerphone as Trump shares disproven claims about childhood vaccines, an issue that has helped Kennedy amass a loyal following among people who reject the scientific consensus that the benefits of vaccines far outweigh the risk of rare complications. Trump also appears to pitch Kennedy on endorsing his campaign. I would love you to do so," Trump tells Kennedy. "And I think it'll be so good for you and so big for you. And we're going to win. Kennedy says little in the portion of the conversation that was leaked, which begins while Trump is already speaking about vaccines. When President Trump called me I was taping with an in-house videographer, Kennedy wrote on the X platform. I should have ordered the videographer to stop recording immediately
When asked about the war in Ukraine, Vance said Trump would negotiate with Moscow and Kyiv to "bring this thing to a rapid close so America can focus on the real issue, which is China
Biden remains determined to stay in the race, despite a calamitous debate performance and high-profile gaffes that have hardened perceptions that he is too old to be president
The assassination attempt on Donald Trump comes 43 years after President Ronald Reagan was shot
President Joe Biden warned Sunday of the the risks of political violence in the U.S. after Saturday's attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, saying, It's time to cool it down. In a prime-time national address from the Oval Office, Biden said political passions can run high but we must never descend into violence. There is no place in America for this kind of violence for any violence. Ever. Period. No exception. We can't allow this violence to be normalized," Biden said. Biden spoke for about five minutes from the Oval Office. He noted that the Republican National Convention was opening in Milwaukee on Monday, while he himself would be traveling the country to campaign for reelection. He said passions would run high on both sides and the stakes of the election were enormous. We can do this, Biden implored, saying the nation was founded on a democracy that gave reason and balance a chance to prevail over brute force. American democracy where arguments are made
'There is no place in America for this kind of violence or any violence for that matter, an assassination attempt is contrary to everything we stand for ... as a nation - everything,' Biden said
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Other Democratic candidates running this year are also rethinking their plans to focus on the dangers they have said Trump poses if elected