The American President Joe Biden was subjected to new moral pressure to abandon his presidential candidacy with agonizing calls from a number of high-ranking Democrats, writes the British newspaper "Guardian". These calls were made at a time when the US president is trying to solidify his participation in the election, so that there is no doubt who is the candidate of the Democratic Party.
The fallout from his June 27 televised debate failure has not yet subsided, and Nancy Pelosi, the former speaker of the House of Representatives, has become the most senior member of the party to delicately hint at the possibility of Biden stepping down, but not explicitly told him to do so, adds the publication. Meanwhile, Republicans in Congress happily tried to capitalize on her speech by calling three White House aides to testify about Biden's mental stability, but it still seems unlikely that the president will bow to pressure to recant, the newspaper commented.< /p>
Gavin Newsom, the governor of California who has been pointed to as a potential replacement candidate, said he supports Biden, but if he withdraws from the election, he will not run for president against Vice President Kamala Harris, writes "Los Angeles Times".
Hollywood star George Clooney also made a call to withdraw from the election race. The actor has become a major figure in the Democratic Party, raising millions for its candidates, and is considered an influential voice in American politics, so his failure to support Biden could hurt the Democratic Party financially, writes "Daily Mail".< /p>
The intervention by Pelosi and Clooney, who last month hosted a major fundraiser for Biden in California, is a significant setback for the president, who is trying to prevent an all-out revolt against his candidacy after a disastrous performance in the debates against Donald Trump last month, writes "Financial Times".
However, Pelosi's ambiguous comments suggested there is still deep uneasiness among rank-and-file Democrats about whether he should stay in the presidential race. Pelosi, who is 84 years old, is one of Biden's staunchest supporters, but her comments are not enough to fully support him, the paper added.
The calls to withdraw were made at a time when Biden welcomed world leaders to Washington for the NATO summit and met for the first time with new British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the British newspaper "Telegraph" wrote. At the meeting, alliance leaders identified China as a "decisive supporter" of Russia's war against Ukraine and called the deepening of its ties with Moscow a cause of "deep concern", which is considered the most serious rebuke against Beijing by NATO, the "Guardian" also writes.
This ends a long wait for Ukraine, whose President Volodymyr Zelensky has been lobbying for at least 18 months for Western aircraft to supplement Ukraine's small and aging Soviet-era air force that can't match Russia's. writes the British edition.
"Whoever is elected to the White House, we have to recognize that American priorities are likely to shift to the Indo-Pacific region," John Healey said at the NATO summit in Washington, suggesting that the US would inevitably are shifting their military focus to China, the newspaper explains.
With each appearance at the NATO summit this week, Biden must prove that he can still rally his allies to the cause of Ukraine in the long term, writes the American edition of the magazine "Politico". Biden will continue to be under the microscope this week as he tackles his busy schedule, which includes meetings and a news conference today where he will face questions about his age, the magazine explains.