It's getting tighter and tighter!

First US senator calls on Biden to withdraw

More and more Democrats want to replace Biden.

(Bild: AP ( via APA) Austria Presse Agentur/Jacquelyn Martin)

US President Joe Biden has not been able to dispel doubts about his state of health in recent days. For the first time, a Democrat senator has publicly called on the 81-year-old to drop out of the race for the White House. Emotional messages are even coming from Hollywood.

"For the good of the country, I urge President Biden to withdraw from the race," said Senator Peter Welch from the US state of Vermont in a commentary in the Washington Post on Wednesday (local time). In the debate about Biden's health, however, the Republicans demanded information from high-ranking staff in the White House.

The Republican-led oversight committee in the House of Representatives wrote to three staffers on Wednesday asking them to be available for closed-door testimony later this month.

What will Biden hear?
The committee, led by James Comer, said that according to a former aide to the president, these three had created "a protective bubble" around him. Biden's physical and mental fitness has been the subject of debate since the 81-year-old's performance in a TV duel against Republican Donald Trump was deemed weak.

The committee's penalized requests - so-called "subpoenas" - went to Biden's deputy chief of staff Annie Tomasini, advisor Ashley Williams and an advisor to First Lady Jill Biden, Anthony Bernal. The Axios portal initially reported on the letters.

According to this, Comer also spoke of the concern that the addressee of the letters was "one of many White House staffers who have taken it upon themselves to run the country while the president cannot". Presidential office spokesman Ian Sams said the letters were a "baseless political stunt" by Comer to attract media attention.

Top Democrats doubt Biden
According to a report, however, the Democratic majority leader in the US Senate, Chuck Schumer, is also said to have shown himself open to donors to replace Biden. This was reported by the Axios portal, citing two unnamed sources. Publicly, Schumer has so far backed Biden unconditionally.

An endurance test awaits the Democrat on Thursday: the final press conference of the NATO summit. There, Biden will have to face questions from the press without a teleprompter. It is precisely at such moments that he tends to make mistakes and slip-ups. Biden has also announced a new TV interview to show that he can hold his own in situations without a prompter.

On Monday evening (German night to Tuesday) he will face questions from NBC journalist Lester Holt. Last week, Biden gave his first post-debate interview to ABC and emphasized that only God could make him withdraw.

George Clooney addresses emotional words to Biden
Since his disastrous performance in the televised debate with Trump at the end of June, Biden has been confronted with an ever-increasing debate about his physical and mental suitability for the presidency. On Wednesday, Hollywood star George Clooney, an important supporter of the Democrats, called on Biden to withdraw from the election campaign in a guest article for the "New York Times".

"I am a lifelong Democrat; I make no apologies for that," wrote actor George Clooney in an opinion piece in the "New York Times". "I love Joe Biden. As a senator. As vice president and as president," said the Hollywood star. But one battle he can't win is the fight against time. Because of Trump, the party is so frightened that it has ignored the warning signs. That is why a new candidate is now needed.

Biden was confused at the fundraiser
Just a few weeks ago, Clooney had collected millions in donations for Biden's election campaign in Los Angeles at a campaign event with other stars such as Julia Roberts and Barbra Streisand. At the time, Biden had traveled directly from the G7 summit in Italy to Hollywood to attend the glamorous event. There, Clooney would have seen the Biden of the disastrous TV debate. A man who is losing the battle against time.