Beleaguered Biden sits on sidelines with COVID as Trump returns to center stage after shooting
A beleaguered President Biden was resting at his Delaware beach home Thursday, fighting COVID-19 and reportedly considering with newfound seriousness a rising tide of dissent from within the Democratic Party over his ability to carry on in the presidential race.
His rival, former President Trump, meanwhile, was preparing for a triumphant return to center stage on the final night of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, following Saturday’s failed attempt on his life and days of speeches from GOP primary rivals, in which they all lined up behind him.
The two images stood in stark contrast, reflecting vastly different vibes within their respective parties.
Republicans have seemed buoyant and gleeful at their Wisconsin confab this week, cheering wildly each time Trump appeared, his ear still bandaged with a bullet injury. Democrats have seemed increasingly panicked, bruised by infighting and wary of what might come next — whether that is Biden rallying again or finally relinquishing power.
Trump’s vice president pick, J.D. Vance, spent time in San Francisco, founding a Silicon Valley technology investing firm.
A slow drip of leaks from Democrats in Congress suggested Biden was edging closer to giving up his reelection campaign so the party’s presidential nomination could be handed off to Vice President Kamala Harris or some other, to-be-determined candidate. The same leaks seemed designed to bear out that conclusion — despite Biden insisting for weeks, time and again, that he isn’t going anywhere.
For a brief moment after Trump’s shooting on Saturday, some in politics wondered whether the drumbeat of dissent against Biden had peaked — or might putter out in the face of an entirely new chapter in the race.
Instead, on Wednesday Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank) became the most prominent member of Congress yet to call on the incumbent president to leave the race, saying in a statement first reported by The Times that it was time for Biden to “pass the torch.”
Biden was on the campaign trail when Schiff’s statement landed. At a Mexican restaurant in Las Vegas, reporters shouted to him, asking whether he had any comment on it. They were drowned out by Biden aides, who said it was time for the president to leave.
Shortly after, the White House announced that Biden had tested positive for COVID-19, and was headed to his Rehoboth Beach, Del., home to work in isolation.
Rep. Adam Schiff called Wednesday for President Biden to end his reelection bid, citing “serious concerns” about his ability to win.
At 9:40 a.m. Thursday, the White House announced a “lid” — meaning Biden would not be seen publicly for the rest of the day.
Meanwhile, the pressure to bow out gained momentum.
The Washington Post reported that former President Obama had told allies that Biden needed to seriously consider his viability at the top of the Democratic ticket, and that his path to winning had diminished. The New York Times reported that Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) had presented Biden with data showing he is trailing Trump.
By the afternoon, the New York Times was reporting that people close to Biden were saying he appeared to accept that he may have to leave the race.
As Trump prepared to take center stage again for the first time since he rose bloodied from another stage with the message to “Fight! Fight! Fight!” his opponent had stepped out of the political ring — at least temporarily.
Whether that was just so Biden could recover from reportedly “mild symptoms” of COVID-19 was anyone’s guess. Nothing appeared certain.
Later Thursday morning, the White House released a letter from Biden’s physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, outlining the president’s condition at the time.
O’Connor wrote that Biden was “still experiencing mild upper respiratory symptoms” and was continuing to take Paxlovid, an antiviral pill used to treat COVID-19.
“He does not have a fever and his vital signs remain normal,” O’Connor wrote. “He will continue to conduct the business of the American people.”
Harris remained on the campaign trail. On Thursday, she visited North Carolina, where Trump holds a polling lead.
Speaking in Fayetteville for about 15 minutes, the vice president didn’t mention the pressure campaign on Biden, instead framing the race as a choice between “a country of freedom, compassion and rule of law, or a country of chaos, fear and hate.”
She attacked Trump’s newly named running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, and portrayed Biden as a man who “has never forgotten where he came from.”
“He understands everyday struggles, because he has actually lived them,” she said. “I say the contrast between Joe Biden and Donald Trump is like night and day.”
Harris also dismissed Republicans’ calls of “unity” following Trump’s shooting as hypocritical.
“If you claim to stand for unity, you need to do more than just use the word,” she said, to cheers from the crowd.
“You cannot claim you stand for unity if you are pushing an agenda that deprives whole groups of Americans of basic freedoms, opportunity and dignity,” Harris said — criticizing Republican opposition to reproductive healthcare and abortion, denial of the 2020 election results and economic policies favoring the wealthy.
Times staff writer Noah Bierman in Washington contributed to this report.
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