Biden's first interview after disastrous debate fails to ease Democrats' panic amid calls for withdrawal

In his first interview since last week's disastrous debate performance and amid demands from Democrats for him to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race, United States President JoeBiden said, "If the Lord Almighty comes down and tells me that (stand down from the race), I might do that."

But unfortunately, Biden's remarks were not enough to calm Democrats' worries. After the presidential debate and now Biden's most recent interview, Democrats are worried about losing thepresidency,Senate majority and House seats if Biden, 81, remains their presidential nominee.

In an interview with CNN on Friday (Jul 5) night, Representative Lloyd Doggett of Texas, the first Democrat in the House to urge the incumbent presidentto withdraw from the presidential race, brought up Biden's "Lord Almighty" remark.

"We may not be the Lord Almighty calling from on high. But from Maine to Washington...from Chicago...from Arizona. People from all over the country saying, that the risk of a Trump presidency destroying our democracy...to take over our government and never giving it back again, is so great that we've got to have our strongest candidate. Every day he delays in making that decision, it makes it more difficult," Doggett said.

Throughout Friday's eagerly awaited interview, Biden maintained his position as the most qualified candidate to "defeat" his Republican rivalDonaldTrump in November. Since last week's debate, the 81-year-old president has consistently disputed polling data that putthe former president ahead.

In response to a question about whether the polls suggest that 2024 would be "much tougher to win," Biden said, "Not when you're running against a pathological liar."

One of Biden's most ardent supporters, Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, stated on CNN on Friday night that "Democrats need to get a spine or grow a set—one or the other. Joe Biden is our guy."

In response to Fetterman's remarks, RepresentativeMike Quigley of Illinois, the fourth Democrat in the House to urge Biden to withdraw, said, "I think what makes a spine is to step aside and recognize the president of the United States doesn't have the vigour necessary to overcome the deficit here, and it's going to affect us all."

"When asked about the cognitive test, he said, 'I take a cognitive test every day.' That may be true, but 75 per cent of American people think he fails that test. It's a real problem for him, and it's something that shows in every poll as far as where he stands in the race," former Barack Obama adviser David Axelrod said in a panel interview on CNN.

Biden received praise from Van Jones, an Obama White House staffer, for not "hiding" behind a teleprompter during the one-on-one interview. Still, he believes that the incumbent presidentshould have done more to calm the Democrats down.

"Is what you see good enough to defeat Donald Trump? That is an honest question. I don't think he put those questions to rest," Jones said.

(With inputs from agencies)