Biden has pledged to resume campaigning next week and criticized Donald Trump’s “dark” speech at the Republican National Convention on Thursday, but his determination faced growing opposition as six more House Democrats and another senator joined public calls for him to withdraw from the November election, citing falling approval ratings and concerns about Biden’s health.
Notably, four people, including members of prominent black and Hispanic congressional caucuses who have supported Biden so far, co-wrote a letter urging Biden to “pass the baton.”
About 25 House Democrats and three senators have called on Biden to drop out of the race after his poor performance in debates with Trump and a series of polls showing the Republican on track to retake the White House.
Anonymous US media sources reported that Biden was heeding warnings from Democratic Party officials that his time was over and was preparing a modest exit within the next few days. But the Biden camp fired back, with campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon acknowledging a “dwindling” in support but insisting that Biden remains the front-runner, saying, “The president is certainly in this race. Joe Biden is more committed than ever to defeating Donald Trump.”
Meanwhile, former US President and current Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, in his speech at the Republican National Convention on Friday, promised to address the issue of illegal immigration and promote legal entry. Trump stressed that this approach would benefit communities such as Indian Americans who have primarily entered the US through legal routes such as H-1B visas. “I will end the illegal immigration crisis by closing our borders and finishing the wall that we’ve already built, much of it,” Trump declared.
The former president expressed the view that Republicans, patriots, and even most Democrats want people to enter the country legally. He highlighted the strong border policies implemented during his administration, saying, “In less than four years, I have handed this administration the strongest border in American history.” Under his leadership, illegal immigrants were quickly apprehended and deported.
President Trump criticized the current administration for dismantling border policies that he himself put in place and stressed the importance of legal entry.
Trump pointed out the injustice of hundreds of thousands of people who have tried for years to get into the US legally, only to see unprecedented levels of illegal immigration. “I say again, come in. But legally. Do you see how unfair that is? So many people, hundreds of thousands of people, have tried for years to come to this country, and now they’re seeing these people pouring into the United States at unprecedented levels. It’s so unfair. We’re not going to do that. We’re not going to tolerate it. They stopped building the wall,” Trump said, reiterating his position.