Following the announcement that President Joe Biden tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday, top Democrats are urging the 81-year-old leader to step down from the presidential race against Donald Trump.
According to the White House, the president is experiencing mild symptoms, including “general malaise” from the infection, and has returned to his home in Delaware to self-isolate.
There, he will carry out “all of his duties fully,” said Karine Jean-Pierre, President Biden’s press secretary. Jean-Pierre mentioned that the president is facing mild symptoms.
Top Democrats in the US Congress, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries both met with Biden individually to express concerns over his bid for a second term.
The former House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, also privately warned Biden of his low chances of beating Donald Trump in the upcoming election, according to CNN.
In a recent interview with BET, Biden said he couldn’t leave his place with the United States so “divided.” However, he commented for the first time that he would only consider stepping down his bid for a second term if any of his doctors said he had a “medical condition.”
Despite Biden’s diagnosis, Vice President Kamala Harris is set to appear on Thursday at a campaign event in Fayetteville, North Carolina, as planned, an administration staffer said Wednesday evening.
