After pressure from a top Democrat on Wednesday, President Joe Biden is prepared to drop his bid for re-election in the upcoming election only if doctors prescribe him rest.
The statement came for the first time since Biden dropped out of the White House race, shortly after Rep. Adam Schiff, a key ally from California, called on Biden to “pass the torch.”
“If I had a medical condition that came up, if somebody, if the doctors came in and said, ‘you have this problem, this problem,'” Biden said in an interview with BET’s Black Media on Tuesday when asked what might make him, to think.
The 81-year-old has been fighting for political survival since his disastrous performance in a presidential debate in which his muddled answers sparked concerns about his age.
Additionally, Schiff, who is expected to win a Senate seat this year, was the first Democrat to come forward and ask Biden to withdraw from the presidential race.
Meanwhile, about 20 House Democrats and one senator have called on the president to withdraw from the presidential race. However, Biden considers him the best suited to defeat his opponent, Donald Trump.
On Monday, the Democrat mentioned to NBC that his mental health is “pretty good” and that he is ready to win the upcoming election.
With the pressure on Biden, Democrats said Wednesday they plan to make a virtual nomination for president in the first week of August, before the Democratic National Convention (DNC) on August 19.
However, several lawmakers are against the virtual nomination and are criticizing the decision.
Biden insists that Democratic voters support him, but an Associated Press and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll on Wednesday said nearly two-thirds want him to step down.