Richard Arnold: US Correspondent on the mounting pressure on Joe Biden to drop his bid for president

Pressure is increasing on Joe Biden to consider dropping his bid for a second Presidential term. 

The sitting President and presumptive Democratic candidate remains committed to the race. 

It follows a poor debate performance last week, in which Biden lost his way on several occasions. 

US correspondent Richard Arnold told Mike Hosking that Biden apparently annoyed some Governors when he met with them yesterday. 

He says one asked Joe Biden about his health, to which he replied, 'I'm fine, it's just my brain.' 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Richard Arle's with us morning mate, Yes, yes, and yes,
good morning. Yes, exactly where are we at? So they've
got the interview and the meetings of where are we at? Well,
what can you say? It's a very odd American Independence Day,
is it not? It is two hundred and forty eight
years since the American colony has quit the British rule
with the Declaration of Independence. But now we're at the

(00:20):
crossroads in every respect. The politically charged Supreme courtical has
just delivered their historic rulings seemingly in support of Trump,
saying that American presidents are above the law when it
comes to any official acts of ruling. The Court descenders says,
turn the Democratic presidency into a virtual monarchy. With the
current president Biden, of whom you've been speaking, well, he
is certainly under minute by minute increasing pressure to drop

(00:43):
his bid for a second term, when no presumptive nominee
ever has withdrawn this late in the process. So it's
history in the making, folks. The Republican nominating convention is
just eleven days off. The Democrats met in Chicago in
mid August. O'clock really is ticking, and no one fully
knows yet what is happening behind the scenes. Of course,
we do have the Trump view in that golf course
chit chat today, Biden is quote a broken down pile

(01:05):
of crap and on the verge of quitting the race
in place of his VP, Kamala Harris, who he calls
so bleeping bad. Biden meantime, has annoyed some Democrats by
digging in. In his first meeting with governors last night,
one asked him about his health and he replied, He's fine,
it's just my brain quote unquote, which some took us
a joke, some apparently did not. Today, before his big

(01:26):
primetime network interview tomorrow night with American ABC, he did
a radio spot with a small station in Wisconsin.

Speaker 2 (01:33):
Had a bad base at be but ninety men on
stage does not erase what I've done for three and
a half years out of the record and we just
kind of keep moving.

Speaker 1 (01:45):
Well, that is not the question, is it. No one
is questioning the past several years and how it should
be assessed. The debate is over what is next. That
is the concern. Does Biden have the best shot at
beating Trump from the Democrats status poles, having slipping to
six points behind Trump, and in big, big trouble in
some of the battleground areas. Mid survey is showing about

(02:06):
eighty percent of people think Biden at eighty one, is
too old to seek another four year term. Trump is,
of course seventy eight. Former Congressman Tim Ryan is backing
a move towards having Kamala Harris at the top of
the Democratic Party ticket.

Speaker 2 (02:18):
We need a generational change. I mean, there's no question
about that.

Speaker 1 (02:21):
Well, most current pollies are keeping their powder dry. But
even James Cleman, who you recall, saved Biden during the
twenty twenty primary, says he is open theoretically to a
leadership change and perhaps a mini primary, as he says
he would initially back Harris in such a situation, I.

Speaker 2 (02:40):
Will support her if he were to step aside.

Speaker 1 (02:43):
So, yeah, the debate certainly is heating up, Mike, but
Biden gets to make the call. How long before all
this has resolved? The big network interview is tomorrow, but
Democrat de v Dingle says one interview is not gonna
reassure folks. Yeah, now things are moving quickly, and if
there be a change, every day, of course, robs any
new potential candidate of chances to make their own pitch. Meantime,

(03:06):
the Economist magazine, the prestigious British weekly, has on its
cover a walkers some foldable crutches with a US presidential
seal right on the front there and the headline no
way to run a country to which the Drudge Report
reacts quote scored on the fourth of July. Indeed, what
do you know out of Jamaica? It's a mess that
Hurricane Beryl is moving on after battering the island in

(03:27):
recent hours. It just passed over the southern tip as
a category four has weakened a little sense, but this
storm caused complete devastation to some parts of Jamaica, especially
Saint Elizabeth in the southwest, which is a key agricultural area.
First images show a great deal of damage and more
than sixty percent of people there are without power and water,
soow assessments still being made. The storm they is headed

(03:48):
towards Mexico, where officials say they could be hit twice
in the coming days. The forecast also suggested it could
strike the Texas coast. As it cross as the Gulf
of Mexico, it could gain strength. Plus is that another
storm already passed over those particular orders, so they're not
as warm as they might be. But again, this is
the earliest Category five hurricane ever recorded in the Caribbean,

(04:10):
one more sign of the changing climate. You enjoy your
July four day, mate, We'll catch up Richard Arnold stateside
for more from the mic Asking Breakfast. Listen live to
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