President Joe Biden has faced more calls from fellow Democrats to step aside in the race for the White House after making further major gaffes at the NATO summit.
His performance at the Washington event was seen as make-or-break for the 81-year-old after a disastrous debate performance against rival Donald Trump last month.
However, speaking at the end of the three-day summit he mistakenly referred to the Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy as “President Putin”, drawing gasps from those in the room, before correcting himself.
A short time later he mixed up the names of vice president Kamala Harris and Trump.
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The public blunders on the world stage have only served to fuel concerns among members of his own party that he is not best placed to defeat Trump on 5 November and serve another four-year term in the White House.
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries has met with Mr Biden to discuss the president’s candidacy and the “path forward”.
Democrats are also worried Mr Biden could cause them to lose seats in the House of Representatives and Senate, leaving them with no grip on power in Washington should Mr Trump win the White House.
Moscow has also moved to capitalise on Mr Biden’s errors, joking he had shown himself to be “a pro-Russian candidate being controlled by the Kremlin”.
Despite the growing criticism by allies, Mr Biden has made clear he had no intention of quitting.
He said: “If I show up at the convention and everybody says they want someone else, that’s the democratic process.”
But shifting to a stage whisper he often uses for emphasis, he added: “It’s not gonna happen.”
However, this has failed to reassure some Democrats.
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Urging Mr Biden to step aside, Colorado representative Brittany Pettersen wrote on social media: “Please pass the torch to one of our many capable Democratic leaders so we have the best chance to defeat Donald Trump.”
Connecticut representative Jim Himes hailed Mr Biden as “a remarkable leader of unparalleled public service” but said it was time to go.
He said: “The 2024 election will define the future of American democracy, and we must put forth the strongest candidate possible to confront the threat posed by Trump’s promised MAGA (Make America Great Again) authoritarianism.
“I no longer believe that is Joe Biden, and I hope that, as he has throughout a lifetime of public service, he will continue to put our nation first and, as he promised, make way for a new generation of leaders.”
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Representative Scott Peters of California argued Mr Biden’s debate performance last month was “not a blip” and swing state polls had “worsened alarmingly” since then.
He said: “Today I ask President Biden to withdraw from the presidential campaign.
“The stakes are high, and we are on a losing course.
“My conscience requires me to speak up and put loyalty to the country and to democracy ahead of my great affection for, and loyalty to, the president and those around him.
“We must find a candidate from our deep bench of talent who can defeat Donald Trump.”
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Representative Eric Sorensen of Illinois, who is running for re-election in a competitive district in November, said he is “hopeful President Biden will step aside in his campaign for president” and be replaced with “a candidate for president who will communicate a positive vision for every person in this country”.
He added: “In 2020, Joe Biden ran for president with the purpose of putting country over party. Today, I am asking him to do that again.”
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Meanwhile, Mr Jeffries, a leading Democrat, said he had met with Mr Biden on Thursday night.
He wrote in a letter to colleagues: “In my conversation with President Biden, I directly expressed the full breadth of insight, heartfelt perspectives and conclusions about the path forward that the caucus has shared in our recent time together.”
With the presidential nominating conventions approaching, a Democratic leadership aide said time was running out and if Mr Biden did not step down in next few weeks, the party would “have to rally around him”.
