It’s 9 now: House Democrats who oppose ‘gaffe machine’ Biden’s presidential bid

“I am a gaffe machine,” Joe Biden acknowledged on his book tour in 2018, two years before he became the US president. Now, his gaffe-streak has put his presidential candidature on the line, with the chorus growing louder asking him to drop out of the race. Many including some of the House Democrats believe Donald Trump has already won if Biden remains the Democratic Party candidate against the Republican Party nominee in the November 2024 US presidential election.

By Sunday night, the number of House Democrats demanding Biden’s removal as the presidential nominee grew to nine, deepening the political crisis surrounding the embattled US president. This came when Biden campaigned in the must-win state of Pennsylvania.

More from World

Nepal's new PM pays homage to people died during the Gen Z protest in her first national address This Week in Explainers: How recovering from Gen-Z protests is a Himalayan task for Nepal

The chorus grows louder

The latest four senior House Democrats who forcefully pressed the demand that Biden should step aside were — Jerry Nadler (from New York), Adam Smith (from Washington, Mark Takano (from California) and Joseph Morelle (from New York), the CNN reported.  

They joined the five other House Democrats who have gone public calling on Biden to drop his reelection bid citing his diminishing chances of defeating Donald Trump.  

Lloyd Doggett (from Texas) was the first House Democrat to call for Biden to withdraw with an official statement on Tuesday last week. “Recognizing that, unlike Trump, President Biden’s first commitment has always been to our country, not himself, I am hopeful that he will make the painful and difficult decision to withdraw,” Doggett said.

Impact Shorts

More Shorts

‘The cries of this widow will echo’: In first public remarks, Erika Kirk warns Charlie’s killers they’ve ‘unleashed a fire’

Trump urges Nato to back sanctions on Russia, calls for 50–100% tariffs on China

Others who followed Doggett in asking Biden to make way for a new candidate to take on Trump in the November contest were Raúl Grijalva (from Arizona), Seth Moulton (from Massachusetts), Mike Quigley (Illinois) and Angie Craig (from Minnesota).

The US media reports say there are at least 18 elected Democrats who are against Biden contesting the US presidential election in November. This comes as top Democratic leaders are reported to be organising meetings to discuss Biden’s fitness for the office.

A look at Biden’s gaffes

Against the backdrop of his gaffes, especially after becoming the US president in January 2020, Biden was facing severe criticism over his fitness to occupy the White House. Medical professionals, however, supported him, with Biden’s physician Dr Kevin O’Connor saying in 2021, that he was a “healthy, vigorous 78-year-old male fit for presidency”.  

Amid his slipping tongues and freezes in summits, Biden gave just 36 press conferences by the end of June — fewer than any president since Ronald Reagan.  

Let’s look at some of the most embarrassing gaffes that painted Biden in a poor light, finally weakening his candidature against Trump, and bringing him to the verge of an unprecedented move in US election history — a possible removal of a presidential nominee by the Democratic Party:

• March 2021: Biden stumbled thrice on the stairs of Air Force One. A White House spokesperson blamed it on the high-speed wind.

• March 2022: At the State of the Union, Biden said “Iranian” when he meant “Ukrainian” and confused “profits” with “prices."

• March 2022: In Warsaw, Biden read a well-written script but ad-libbed to say, Putin “cannot remain in power,” prompting a White House clarification.

• September 2022: During a conference, Biden sought out the late representative Jackie Walorski.

• October 2022: Biden began a speech with “Let me start with two words: ‘Made in America.’"

• November 2022: Biden mistakenly linked inflation to the Iraq war and claimed his son Beau died in Iraq, which was incorrect. His son had returned from Iraq and died in a US hospital.

• May 2023: Biden referred to South Korea’s president as “President Loon” (Yoon Suk Yeol).

• June 2023: Biden called British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak “president”.

• June 2023: In Connecticut, Biden ended a speech with “God save the queen, man”.

• June 2023: Biden confused Russia’s attacks on Ukraine with Iraq. He said Russian President Vladimir Putin was losing war in Iraq.

• September 2023: During a press conference in Hanoi, Biden was abruptly stopped mid-ramble by his press secretary. “We talked about stability, we talked about the Third World, excuse me, the Southern Hemisphere has access to change. It wasn’t confrontational at all…” Biden said to a question, his remarks meandering.

• September 2023: Biden mistakenly claimed he visited Ground Zero the day after the 9/11 attacks. He actually visited the site nine days after the attacks.

• February 2024: Biden confused French President Emmanuel Macron with François Mitterrand, the longest holder of the office (1981-95).

• June 2024: Biden appeared to “freeze” during a Juneteenth event before briefly stumbling on his words.

• June 2024: Biden momentarily forgot the homeland security secretary’s name.

Against this backdrop, on June 27, Biden’s first debate against Trump saw him hoarse and stumbling, later attributed to a cold and jet lag. But it triggered a number of Democrats seeking his removal as the party’s presidential candidate.

Why Democrats are worried

Democrats look worried more on account of the perception of Biden, who is losing the battle in opinion polls. Economically, Biden’s record in job creation has been fairly good, with over 206,000 jobs created in June alone. However, the unemployment rate too ticked up slightly from four per cent in May to 4.1 per cent in June. But overall, Biden has ensured that the US economy came out stronger after the pandemic years.

Inflation has come down to 3.3 per cent, less than half of what the US saw during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, it’s still far above the range of two per cent around which it hovered during Trump years (2016-19). Another issue that is bothering the Democrats is the migration from the southern borders. Trump had made illegal migration from Mexico a high-pitched campaign during his presidentship. Biden is losing the perception battle in safeguarding the borders, the recent survey shows.

These factors have rattled several Democrats’, who view Biden as a weak candidate to face Trump. Already, surveys and opinions favour his vice-president Kamala Harris as a better challenger to take on Trump in the presidential election four months from now.