History may record them as eight days that sank a presidency, or at least the rockiest road to a convention in living memory – a week that has left Joe Biden’s re-election bid hanging by a thread.
Day one – 27 June
Biden and Donald Trump face off in a historically early yet eagerly awaited presidential debate, hosted by CNN. In a performance that leaves viewers startled and supporters horrified, the president speaks in a hoarse voice, mangles his syntax and repeatedly loses his train of thought, while abjectly failing to mount an effective argument against a gleeful Trump.
At a post-debate event, the president’s wife, Jill Biden, puts on a brave face: “Joe, you did a great job,” she said. “You answered all the questions.” Her words and her husband’s frail demeanor only compound negative impressions of the debate display, as panic sets in among Democratic supporters who are shocked by Biden’s apparent frailty.
Day two – 28 June
Amid a chorus of Democratic doubts about his candidacy, the 81-year-old president attempts an immediate fightback at a campaign event in North Carolina. “I know I’m not a young man,” he tells a crowd of cheering supporters. “I don’t debate as well as I used to, but I know what I do know … when you get knocked down, you get back up!” Observers wonder where this vigorous Biden had been the night before, though others noted he was speaking from an Autocue.
The New York Times editorial board calls for Biden to end his candidacy, describing it as a “reckless gamble” that risks a second Trump presidency.
Day three – 29 June
Biden holds fundraising events aimed at calming worried donors. Not all are convinced. One placard held by supporters turned protesters outside a fundraiser in East Hampton reads: “We love you, but it’s time.”
The New Yorker magazine, another weighty, previously friendly publication, calls on Biden to drop his re-election campaign.
Day four – 30 June
Biden hunkers down with his family at Camp David for a gathering originally organised as a photo shoot with veteran celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz. His closest relatives tell him to stay the course, with his son Hunter Biden, recently convicted on gun-related felony charges, reportedly the most vocal.
Day five – 1 July
A far-reaching US supreme court ruling grants Donald Trump – and all future presidents – broad immunity from prosecution for their actions in office, making it unlikely that the case against Trump for attempting to overthrow the 2020 election would reach trial before the race ends. Observers note that the ruling – which one of the dissenting justices said would give Trump the powers of a “king” – makes the stakes of Biden’s poor performance even higher. Biden denounces the ruling in a short statement but does not answer questions from reporters.
Day six – 2 July
Lloyd Doggett of Texas becomes the first sitting Democratic representative to break ranks publicly and tell the president to end his candidacy.
Day seven – 3 July
Another representative follows Doggett’s lead by telling Biden to step aside. Biden, responding to accusations of failing to reach out to party figures, meets Democratic state governors at the White House and admits that he needs to get more sleep. They emerge from the meeting reasserting their support for Biden.
Day eight – 4 July
Fresh polls show Biden’s support eroding since the debate, with a New York Times/Siena survey showing him trailing Trump by 49% to 43%.
Abigail Disney, the heir to the Disney family fortune and a major party donor, says she will withhold donations unless Biden drops out of the race, following screenwriter Damon Lindelof, philanthropist Gideon Stein and Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings. “This is realism, not disrespect,” Disney told CNBC, adding “if Biden does not step down, the Democrats will lose. Of that I am absolutely certain. The consequences for the loss will be genuinely dire.”
Biden tries to recover lost ground with a couple of radio interviews, recorded the day before, in which he admits “I screwed up”, but vows to a supporter at a Fourth of July barbecue at the White House that he isn’t “going anywhere”.
