WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has made it clear, basically, no matter how you ask him: He will definitely and certainly remain in the race for the presidency “100 percent.”
But in recent weeks, the controversial Democratic president has given some hints in response to questions from journalists about what might prompt him to resign – especially as calls from within his own party for him to withdraw his candidacy continue unabated.
Here are the reasons cited by Biden – some grave, some less grave – that could lead him to reconsider his candidacy:
Divine Intervention
It was a defiant response that made it clear that Biden had no intention of dropping out.
During an interview with ABC News, which marked the first major test of his suitability for the office, moderator George Stephanopoulos asked the 81-year-old Biden whether he was convinced that only he could defeat his Republican opponent Donald Trump.
“I am confident of two things,” Biden said. “I am the person best qualified to beat him, and I know how to get things done.”
Stephanopoulos followed up: “If you can be convinced that you cannot defeat Donald Trump, will you resign?”
“That depends,” Biden replied. “I mean, if the Lord comes out and tells me to do it, then maybe I’ll do it.”
Cold, tough data
No politician wants to lose – and Biden seems willing to leave office if he had numerical proof that that is exactly what would happen.
At a press conference at the end of the NATO summit in Washington last week, Biden was asked if he would resign if his advisers showed him that Vice President Kamala Harris would be a stronger opponent than Trump.
Biden’s first answer was “no,” but then he elaborated.
“Unless they come back and say, ‘There’s no way you can win.'” I said. “Nobody says that. No poll says that.”
The few polls available suggest that the race will be neck and neck several months before the election. Several polls of voters give Trump a slight lead, while others show neither candidate has an advantage.
A fateful accident
Biden was not asked directly about the hypothesis, but he nevertheless put forward a novel scenario.
As Speedy Morman, a host on the entertainment channel Complex, concluded his interview with Biden in Detroit last week, he had one final question for the president: “Are we going to see you – in your words – 1,000 percent on the ballot in November?”
Biden joked: “Unless I get hit by a train, yes.”
Morman replied, “Let’s hope that doesn’t happen for your safety.”
An undiagnosed disease
Biden spoke with BET journalist Ed Gordon for an interview scheduled to air Wednesday night. During the conversation, Gordon asked Biden if there were any factors that would cause him to reconsider his candidacy.
He did not repeat the other reasons he had previously listed, but brought to lithe a novel reason.
“If I had a medical problem,” Biden told Gordon. “If doctors came to me and said, ‘You have this problem, that problem.'”
The health of Biden, the oldest US president, was under scrutiny long before his disastrous debate performance.
After his last physical in February, presidential physician Kevin O’Connor said Biden “remains fit enough to successfully perform the duties of the president.” A neurological exam conducted more than a month earlier showed no signs of stroke, multiple sclerosis or Parkinson’s disease, according to O’Connor. The doctor also said a cognitive exam was unnecessary.
Biden tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday while trying to secure the support of disaffected voters critical to his re-election chances. The diagnosis prompted him to cancel a meeting with members of a Latino civil rights organization in the swing state of Nevada.
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Associated Press writers Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux in Washington and Aamer Madhani in Las Vegas contributed to this report.
