The second day of the NATO summit in Washington is clouded by questions over President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign and his fitness to serve in office. A seventh House Democrat has publicly called on Biden to end his campaign, while Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi stopped short of saying he should continue.
Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump returned to the campaign trail yesterday in Florida to rally supporters and tease his vice president pick.
-Several more Democratic mayors voice support for Biden after call
Biden didn’t face calls to step aside or concerns about his fitness for office on a call he hosted for nearly 200 Democratic mayors. That’s according to those who were on the call.
Reactions from some mayors:
· Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said in a letter that Biden was “pretty fired up,” and that he and Kamala Harris are “exactly the leaders we need at this moment.”
· Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson told AP “the president is in it to win it.”
· Kansas City, Missouri, Mayor Quinton Lucas said in an online post he will “proudly stand with Joe!”
New York congressman calls on Biden to step aside
An eighth Democratic member of Congress has publicly called on President Joe Biden to step aside, the New York Times reported.
U.S. Rep. Pat Ryan of New York said he no longer believed Biden could make the case necessary to defeat Trump.
He called Trump an “existential threat” to American democracy and said that he was asking Biden to drop out “for the good of the country.”
It comes as Democrats continue to wrestle with the extraordinary question of whether to stand behind the president or push him to bow out.