After a shaky debate performance on Thursday night, political analysts and several US media organisations have been calling for US President Joe Biden to drop out of the 2024 election race. Democratic leaders rallied behind Mr Biden following his poor performance last week, as the White House denied a report he was meeting with family to assess his candidacy. Now, his wife and First Lady Jill Biden has spoken about the debate and has said that they “will continue to fight”.

Talking to Vogue from Camp David where the family was spending the weekend, she told the magazine “will not let those 90 minutes define the four years he’s been president.”

She continued, “We will continue to fight,” and claimed that Mr Biden “will always do what’s best for the country.”

Notably, President Biden’s age is a particular concern with voters and there have been calls from some Democrats for him to step aside for a new candidate. Despite weak poll numbers and questions about his age, he has stuck to his plan to seek a second term.

On June 27, the 81-year-old’s performance in the presidential debate, rekindled calls for him to step away. When responding to a question about the economy posed by a CNN anchor, the POTUS, who is often observed stuttering and freezing during public events, seemed to lose his train of thought. When asked if voters felt “worse off” under his presidency, the Democrat committed yet another error.

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden said after the debate that he would defeat Republican rival Donald Trump in the presidential election, giving no sign he would consider dropping out of the race. He said, “I know I’m not a young man, to state the obvious. I don’t walk as easy as I used to, I don’t speak as smoothly as I used to, I don’t debate as well as I used to.”

“I would not be running again if I didn’t believe with all my heart and soul that I could do this job. The stakes are too high,” he said at a rally.

After a rocky debate performance on Thursday night, political analysts and several US media organisations have been calling for US President Joe Biden to drop out of the 2024 race. Now, the former White House deputy director of photography under the Biden administration has also joined the growing chorus.

In an Instagram story after the debate, Chandler West wrote, “It’s time for Joe to go,” Axios reported.

“I know many of these people and how the White House operates. They will say he has a ‘cold’ or just experienced a ‘bad night,’ but for weeks and months, in private, they have all said what we saw last night—Joe is not as strong as he was just a couple of years ago. The debate was not the first bad day … it’s not gonna be the last,” Mr West wrote.

He further claimed that White House aides have known for months that Joe Biden’s mental health has been deteriorating but covered it up ahead of the debate. 

Several unnamed current and former Biden aides told Axios that the president is mentally engaged from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., but outside of this time frame, he is more likely to have verbal lapses and fatigue.

Notably, President Biden’s age is a particular concern with voters and there have been calls from some Democrats for him to step aside for a new candidate. Despite weak poll numbers and questions about his age, he has stuck to his plan to seek a second term.

However, the 81-year-old president’s alarming presidential debate performance on June 27, has renewed calls for him to step aside. Biden, frequently seen fumbling and freezing during public events, appeared to lose his train of thought while answering a question by a CNN anchor on the economy. The Democrat made yet another mistake while answering a question on voters feeling “worse off” under his presidency.

If Joe Biden withdraws his name, delegates from 50 states will have to look for a replacement at the earliest. Vice President Kamala Harris, California Governor Gavin Newsom, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro are among the names that can represent the party.