Biden: I could withdraw from presidential race if my health requires it

(Patria) - US President Joe Biden said he could withdraw from the re-election bid if doctors discover his health condition requires it, Reuters reported.

These were his first comments to slightly open the door to withdrawing from the White House race, and they came at a time when Senator Adam Schiff, a key ally from California, urged Biden to "pass the torch".

"If I had some health issue that came up, if someone, if the doctors came and said 'you have this problem, that problem'," Biden told Black media outlet BET in an interview recorded on Tuesday, when asked what could make him reconsider his candidacy.

He defended his decision to remain in a rematch against Republican Donald Trump in November and explained why he did not hand over the role to a younger generation after one term.

"I said I would be a transitional candidate, and I thought I would be able to transition from this, to pass it on to someone else," he said.

"But I didn't expect things to be so, so, so divided."

Biden has been fighting for political survival since a disastrous debate against Trump nearly three weeks ago, in which his tired and confused appearance raised concerns about his age.

Schiff became the first Democrat to call on him to step down after an assassination attempt on Trump on Saturday, which briefly silenced the growing chorus against Biden.

"A second Trump presidency will undermine the very foundations of our democracy, and I have serious concerns about whether the President can defeat Donald Trump in November," he said. Schiff, who is expected to win a Senate seat this November, is a key White House ally in the legislature and became known nationwide as the lead prosecutor during the first impeachment hearing of then-President Trump.

About twenty House Democrats and one senator have now called on Biden to leave the White House race, but he has refused, insisting he is best positioned to defeat Trump.

Most polls show Biden trailing in a tough race, with Trump pulling ahead in
key swing states, but there have been no dramatic shifts since the debate or the shooting.

Biden said his mental acuity was "pretty good" in an interview with NBC on
Monday, one of a series of unscripted outings aimed at showing he has what it takes.

The White House announced on Wednesday that US President Joe Biden tested positive for COVID-19 while on a campaign trip in Las Vegas on Wednesday and has mild symptoms.


White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced the positive test for the eighty-one-year-old Democrat after the president of UnidosUS, a Latino civil rights organization, said Biden would be unable to speak at a scheduled event due to this diagnosis.


"He is vaccinated and boosted. He has mild symptoms," Jean-Pierre said.