Washington:

Anyone expecting Joe Biden to step aside from the US presidential race without a fight had not fully considered the life story of a proud but often stubborn man.

From playground punch-ups to terrible tragedies and multiple White House bids, Biden has long seen his life as a series of comebacks against impossible odds.

And as a Democratic revolt over his debate debacle against Donald Trump appears to sputter for now, the 81-year-old seems determined to win the fight of his political life.

Unless a major shift occurs, it will likely fall to US voters to decide whether Biden stages another turnup for the books — or whether hubris condemns him and his party to a historic defeat by Trump.

Biden has repeatedly returned to the image of himself as an underdog since the debate, repeating his family’s mantra that “when you get knocked down, you get back up.”

“What we’ve seen the last 10 to 12 days is certainly fundamental to the Joe Biden story,” his spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said from the White House podium on Tuesday.

“He is someone that is certainly counted out many, many times in his career. People tend to knock him down, and you hear him say he gets back up.

“This is the story of him standing up for himself, standing up for millions of Americans.”

‘Punch the guy’ 

That outlook was formed by a hardscrabble childhood in the American rust-belt, as part of a close-knit Irish Catholic family known for its intense pride.

His mother Jean told the young Joey and his siblings every day that “nobody was better than a Biden,” Ben Cramer wrote in his book “What It Takes,” about the 1988 US election campaign.

He was also known for never backing down.

“Most guys who got into a fight, they’d square off… Joey didn’t do that,” Cramer wrote. “He decided to fight… BANGO — he’d punch the guy in the face.”

One affliction Biden famously had to battle was a childhood stutter.

Repeatedly humiliated at school, the young Biden ended up teaching himself how to speak smoothly by sheer determination, repeating phrases again and again into the mirror.

But Biden’s biggest test was yet to come.

In 1972, he was only 29 and had just been elected senator for Delaware when his wife Neilia and their one-year-old daughter Naomi were killed in a car crash, while their young sons Beau and Hunter were left badly injured.

Tragedy struck again in 2015 when Beau died of brain cancer aged 46.

Biden also had to deal with the agony of Hunter’s severe drug addiction and legal problems.

“Sometimes I marvel at Joe’s strength. His life has been marked by cruel losses,” First Lady Jill Biden, whom Biden married in 1977, said in her memoir “Where the Light Enters.”

‘Psychological prison’ 

With his family close around him, Biden has also ridden out a series of political humiliations.

In 1988 he was forced to abandon his first presidential bid following a plagiarism scandal.

His next bid in 2008 ended in heavy defeat in the Democratic primaries, before Barack Obama picked him as his running mate.

Yet in the current crisis over Biden’s age and health, the very things that have previously brought Biden strength could also bring about his downfall.

It’s common knowledge that he will only really listen to family members and a few aides he’s known for decades, but as he ages that bubble has become increasingly insular.

His long-standing belief that he’s been underestimated and mocked by the media means he’s even less likely to listen to outside voices.

Moreover, Biden’s lifelong image as someone who always bounces back means he may not be able to envisage a graceful exit this time around.

Franklin Foer, author of a book on the early Biden presidency, wrote recently in The Atlantic magazine that “humiliation — and its transcendence — is Biden’s origin story.”

“Right now it is his psychological prison, a mental habit that might doom American democracy.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Washington:

US Vice President Kamala Harris is engaged in a delicate balancing act, playing cheerleader for President Joe Biden while standing by as a leading contender to replace him if he ends his reelection bid.

Biden’s dismal performance in last week’s debate with Donald Trump has triggered panic in much of the Democratic Party as people question whether Biden is physically and mentally able to beat Trump and serve another four years.

Former congressman Tim Ryan, while professing his admiration for Biden, wrote in a piece for Newsweek that “the Democratic nominee in 2024 should be Kamala Harris.”

Jim Clyburn, a senior House Democrat, and Black leader, told MSNBC: “We should do everything we can to bolster her — whether it’s in second place or at the top of the ticket.”

Harris herself has not publicly voiced any desire to replace Biden.

“Look, Joe Biden is our nominee,” she said in an interview Tuesday with CBS News. “We beat Trump once, and we’re going to beat him again, period.”

She said she was proud to be on the current ticket with the president.

Shortly after the debate, Harris rushed onto TV to defend Biden, admitting he had started off slowly in the clash with Trump, but saying he ultimately finished strong.

The official schedule for Biden on Wednesday said he had lunch with Harris, which is not a regular event, though it was a weekly fixture for Biden when he was vice president under Barack Obama.

One heartbeat 

Harris, 59, is the first woman, the first Black person, and the first person of Asian origin — her mother was from India — to hold the job that puts her a heartbeat from the presidency, as Americans like to say.

Harris would become president if Biden died in office or became incapacitated.

But she would not necessarily replace Biden if he were to end his candidacy, and Biden has insisted he has no plans to do so.

“For three and half years there has always been this drumbeat that someone other than the VP should be the Democratic candidate,” said Ange-Marie Hancock, professor of political science at The Ohio State University.

Hancock said it was possible an “undercurrent of racism and sexism” was at work against Harris.

For years Harris has been less popular among Americans than other Democrats seen as possible candidates, such as California Governor Gavin Newsom or his Michigan counterpart Gretchen Whitmer.

US media have reported extensively on mistakes she made early in this administration, mainly on the diplomatic front, and on tension among her staffers.

But Hancock said things could turn in Harris’s favor, because she has spent time out visiting battleground states, in particular, to promote abortion rights as it came under repeated fire from conservative judges and governors.

Flickers of that turn could be seen on social media, where supportive Harris-related memes have begun going viral under the hashtag #KHive.

Harris is sometimes criticized as disappointing as an orator. But she got a warm welcome recently when she made a tour of universities that was focused on schools with high numbers of minority students.

She’ll make more stops in July to speak with African American audiences, particularly women, with three trips to Louisiana, Texas, and Indiana.

Polling 

A CNN poll released Tuesday had Harris doing better than Biden against Trump, although not beating him.

This poll gave Harris 45 percent of voter intentions against 47 percent for Trump, while Biden scored 43 percent to 49 percent for the Republican former president in a race between the two men.

In the event Biden was to drop out, Harris, thanks to her name recognition, her ties to powerful people in the government, and the prospect for brisk fundraising, would go into the Democratic convention next month in a position of strength.

But the Republicans are ready and waiting.

“Kamala Harris is very much on the GOP’s radar,” Hancock said, referring to Trump’s party.

The Trump campaign on Wednesday broadcast a video montage of Biden suffering falls and other embarrassing moments, and questioned whether he can serve another term.

It concludes with the question, “And you know who is waiting behind him, right?” and footage of Harris laughing.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

The drumbeat of pressure on Joe Biden to drop out of the US presidential race intensified Wednesday with a bombshell report in the New York Times that he had conceded the possibility to a key ally, as well as movement within his own party to demand his withdrawal.

The White House and Biden’s campaign quickly denied the Times report suggesting the president had vocalized to a supporter that he could ill-afford another misstep that would irrevocably damage his campaign. Biden himself insisted to campaign staff he intended to remain in the race.

“I’m in this race to the end and we’re going to win because when Democrats unite, we will always win,” Biden said in a call alongside Vice President Kamala Harris.

Yet time is running out for the beleaguered president to convince anxious Democratic officials, donors and voters that he remains viable in his effort to keep former President Donald Trump from returning to office. In another blow, dozens of Democratic lawmakers are considering signing a letter demanding Biden withdraw from the race, a senior party official said.

That anxiety has only been fueled by a flood of recent reporting suggesting other Democrats are eyeing possible replacement candidates – and by the Times reporting.

Biden told his ally the race would be in a “different place” if upcoming events went poorly, the Times reported. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre subsequently said Biden had flatly denied making such a comment.

Biden plans to sit for an interview with ABC News on Friday, and hold a rally in Madison, Wisconsin. On Sunday, he’ll travel to Philadelphia for another campaign event. He also plans interviews with Black radio stations in Philadelphia and Milwaukee to coincide with his travel.

Biden has been calling senior Democratic lawmakers – including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries – in a bid to shore up support on Capitol Hill, even as members of his party are publicly expressing dismay about his campaign.

So far, only two sitting House Democrats – Lloyd Doggett of Texas and Raul Grijalva of Arizona – have publicly called for Biden to step aside. But the President may not be able to survive a coordinated revolt among Democratic lawmakers worried that his poor performance could cost them seats or a shot at control of the House and Senate in the upcoming election.

Jean-Pierre said Biden had told her the calls with congressional Democrats were “strong.”

“He’s moving forward as being president. He’s moving forward with his campaign,” she added.

A Senate Democrat, however, said Wednesday evening that several colleagues had privately indicated they didn’t see a way for the president to survive politically. The senator, granted anonymity to speak frankly about discussions among colleagues, said Biden hadn’t assuaged concerns about his debate collapse against Trump.

Biden served for 36 years in the Senate, and Democrats there have been largely silent about his candidacy during a week of turmoil.

Later on Wednesday, Biden held a hastily arranged meeting with Democratic governors, many of whom are at the center of speculation about possibly replacing him on the ticket. Several emerged to say that they were firmly behind Biden. “The president was very clear that he is in this to win this,” Governor Wes Moore of Maryland told reporters.

Crisis Meeting

Moore and other nationally prominent governors with extensive fundraising networks like California’s Gavin Newsom, Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmer and Illinois’s JB Pritzker went to the White House for the crisis meeting in person, while others joined virtually.

“I heard three words from the president – he’s all in. And so am I. Joe Biden’s had our back. Now it’s time to have his,” Newsom said.

But other recent reports have spurred speculation among Democratic allies. On Tuesday, the Washington Post said that former President Barack Obama had privately conveyed to allies that Biden’s path to reelection was more challenging following his debate performance.

Reuters published a new poll showing Harris – the most likely successor if Biden were to step aside – trailing Trump, the Republican candidate, by a single point. Momentum behind the vice president, who could take over the campaign’s sizable war chest, has gathered in recent days. The pair had lunch together on Wednesday afternoon and jointly dialed into their campaign’s conference call.

A Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll in May showed Harris gaining trust among swing-state voters, 48% of whom say she’s ready to assume the duties of the presidency if Biden were unable to continue.

The Leadership Now Project, a group of business leaders who had organized to counter what they saw as threats to democracy during the last Trump administration, called for Biden to cede his place as the Democratic nominee.

“This process will undoubtedly be messy and is not without risk,” the group said in a statement. “However, the stakes are too high not to act.”

All-Hands Calls

In Wilmington, Delaware, staffers at Biden’s campaign headquarters received an email from campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez and chair Jen O’Malley Dillon saying the campaign would increase its cadence of all-staff calls and emails to better coordinate.

White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients held a similar all-hands meeting with staffers there on Wednesday, imploring them to keep their heads held high and continue executing their responsibilities while acknowledging Biden “didn’t have a great night.”

“People are looking for chatter,” he said, according to a recording of the call obtained by Bloomberg. “Tune it out.”

The campaign’s memo asked staffers to emphasize the “full picture” of Biden’s support, downplaying recent polls that have shown a noticeable tilt toward Trump.

“Polls are a snapshot in time and we should all expect them to continue to fluctuate – it will take a few weeks, not a few days, to get a full picture of the race,” the pair wrote.

Part of that effort included sending a memo to congressional staffers stressing that polls remained within the margin of error, and the campaign’s belief that a bad showing in the coming weeks did not actually indicate “a reshaping of the race.”

A New York Times/Siena College poll released Wednesday, though, found Trump’s lead over Biden had grown to six points, 49% to 43%, with nearly three-quarters of voters saying the Democratic president is too old for the job.

South Carolina Democrat Jim Clyburn, a leading Biden supporter who spoke with the president on Wednesday, told CNN he wants to see the president in “town-hall type” events now and performing there would calm some fears.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Former United States President Donald Trump is considering offering billionaire Elon Musk an advisory role in the White House if he is re-elected as the President after the 2024 election, as per a report in the Wall Street Journal.

According to the outlet, both billionaires have discussed a role that would allow the Tesla CEO to provide formal input and influence over border security and economic policies, areas on which he speaks widely on his social media platform X, (formerly Twitter). Notably, Mr Trump and Mr Musk’s tense relationship has improved as they speak on the phone “several times a month.” Mr Musk and billionaire investor Nelson Peltz have also discussed an initiative with Mr Trump to avoid voter fraud and to encourage elites not to support President Biden’s re-election campaign.

Senior Trump adviser Brian Hughes told the New York Post, “President Trump will be the only voice of what role an individual plays in his presidency. But it has been widely reported and is demonstrated in a number of ways, that many of the nation’s most important leaders in technology and innovation are concerned with the damage done to their industry by Biden’s failures to handle our economy and his moves to overburden innovators with government bureaucracy and unrelenting regulation.”

In recent years, Mr Musk has become vocal about political matters and has criticised several legislations, claiming that they are the product of the “woke mind virus.” He has also been critical of the Biden administration’s handling of border security, citing the record number of immigrants who have entered the United States illegally via the southern border in recent years.

Notably, Elon Musk met with Mr Trump in March in Palm Beach, Florida, along with unnamed wealthy Republican donors, the New York Times said. Although the subject of the meeting remained unclear, it was stated that the meeting happened as Mr Trump was looking for campaign contributors to run for the 2024 US Elections.

However, Mr Musk told the Washington Post that he had “never been to Mar-a-Lago,” which is Mr Trump’s estate in Palm Beach. Donald Trump, in an interview with CNBC, confirmed the meeting but said he doesn’t know whether the billionaire would endorse him. “I don’t know. I’ve been friendly with him over the years. I’ve helped him; when I was president I, helped him. I’ve liked him. We obviously have opposing views on a minor subject called electric cars,” he said.

The second-richest man also wrote on his microblogging platform that he would not donate money to any candidate for the elections. “Just to be super clear, I am not donating money to either candidate for US President,” Mr Musk wrote on March 6.

Atlanta, United States:

Donald Trump launched another expletive-laced attack on Joe Biden as he addressed an influential gun group Saturday, while the incumbent president warned in the crucial swing state of Georgia that his “unhinged” challenger is a threat to US democracy.

Trump was in Dallas, Texas, where he received the endorsement of the politically powerful National Rifle Association. 

In a rambling speech to thousands of NRA members, Trump said Biden is “the worst president in the history of our country by far” and branded the Democrat as “full of bullshit.”

“You’re fired, get out of here Joe!” he called out to laughter from the pro-gun crowd, telling them Biden was coming for their firearms.

Trump, who is fending off multiple criminal indictments for his unprecedented attempt to overthrow the results of the 2020 election and was twice impeached as president, told the crowd Biden is “crooked” and a “threat to democracy.”

If Biden were Republican, he would be “given the electric chair,” Trump said.

Biden meanwhile was stumping in the key southern state of Georgia, which the Democrat narrowly won in 2020, as he sought support from African Americans — a crucial element in his coalition.

“Our democracy is really on the line,” Biden told supporters at Mary Mac’s Tea Room, a Black-owned restaurant in Atlanta.

“My opponent’s not a good loser. But he is a loser,” Biden said to applause.

“He’s not only obsessed with losing in 2020. He’s clearly unhinged,” Biden said, adding that something “snapped” in Trump after that election.

“Folks, Trump isn’t running to lead America. He’s running for revenge.”

“We cannot let this man become president. Our children’s future is at stake… We have to win this race, not for me but for America.”

On Sunday Biden was due to address students at Morehouse College, a renowned historically Black university.

Gun violence

Trump was campaigning in Texas during the weekend break for his criminal trial in New York. He also faces criminal charges in Washington, Georgia and Florida — indictments the former president routinely claims are part of a conspiracy by Biden to prevent his return to the White House.

The 150-year-old NRA, whose longtime CEO resigned in January amid a graft lawsuit, is closely aligned with the Republican Party in opposing firearm restrictions, despite routine mass killings in the United States and high rates of gun violence compared to peer nations.

Efforts at broad reforms to gun laws have been stymied for decades, with executive actions and state initiatives attacked in court by critics as infringing on the constitutional right to own a firearm, enshrined in the Second Amendment.

Trump previewed the tone of his speech on Friday, telling a fundraising dinner in Minnesota that gun owners must vote Republican because “the Democrats want to take their guns away — and they will take their guns away.”

Biden has repeatedly called for a long-lapsed ban on military style assault weapons to be reinstated, among other restrictions.

Last month, the White House moved to crack down on firearm sales at gun shows and online that evade US federal background checks, with several Republican-led states quickly suing to block the measure.

There were more than 40,000 gun-related deaths in the United States last year, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Beijing:

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, while closing his three-day trip to China, said that the US has seen evidence of Chinese attempts to “influence and arguably interfere” with the upcoming US elections, despite Chinese President Xi Jinping’s earlier commitment to not do so, reported CNN.

Blinken made the comments in an interview with CNN on Friday while ending his visit to China, where the top American diplomat spent hours meeting with top Chinese officials, including Xi, as the two countries navigated a raft of contentious issues, from US tech controls to Beijing’s support for Moscow.

Blinken said he reiterated President Joe Biden’s message, which he gave to Xi Jinping during their summit in San Francisco last November, to not interfere in the 2024 US presidential elections.

Following which, Xi pledged that China would not do so, according to CNN.

“We have seen, generally speaking, evidence of attempts to influence and arguably interfere, and we want to make sure that that’s cut off as quickly as possible,” Blinken said when asked whether China was violating Xi’s commitment to Biden so far.

“Any interference by China in our election is something that we’re looking very carefully at and is totally unacceptable to us, so I wanted to make sure that they heard that message again,” he added.

Blinken further noted that there were concerns about China and other countries playing on existing social divisions in the US in influence campaigns, as reported by CNN.

Beijing has repeatedly said that it does not interfere in US elections, based on its principle of non-interference in other countries’ internal affairs.

However, China or other nations that are believed to be affiliated with Beijing have been accused of political interference in other countries, such as Canada, according to CNN.

Blinken’s trip, marking his second visit to the country in less than a year, is the latest in a string of high-level engagements that culminated in the Biden-Xi summit late last year and have seen the two countries start to expand what had been severely diminished bilateral communications.

“We are (now) focused on areas where we’re working to cooperate, but also we’re being very forthright about our differences and that’s important if we’re going to avoid the competition we’re in turning into conflict,” Blinken said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Four years after Democratic nominee Joe Biden defeated then-US President Donald Trump, the two political heavyweights are likely to lock horns again, come November. While neither party has officially declared their candidates, Mr Trump is presumably the nominee for the Republican Party, having faced no serious challenges in the primaries. Mr Biden, similarly, has come up as the clear frontrunner among Democrats during the state primaries. The election is set for November 5, with results expected soon after.

US Elections 2024: Key issues

Foreign policy

A presidential candidate’s foreign policy ideas form the bedrock of his/her campaign. With the conflict in Ukraine and Israel’s war in Gaza, the US electorate is keeping a close watch on what Mr Biden and Mr Trump propose to improve the situation and reduce the burden on the country’s taxpayers. The Biden administration has drawn the ire of many, including Vivek Ramaswamy and Robert F Kennedy Jr, who have criticised the president for getting involved in regime change operations and favouring the “military-industrial complex”. 

Mr Kennedy Jr referred to the Russia-Ukraine war as a “proxy war” and claimed the US’s approach was “terrible for the Ukrainian people.” 

The $95 billion national security package, which includes $60 billion for Ukraine, is also facing delays in the Republican-led House of Representatives, with GOP members demanding changes.

Israel’s war in Gaza

Despite over six months of continuous bombardment of Gaza where over 35,000 Palestinians, majorly women and kids, have been killed, both candidates are in support of Israel. Recent tensions between Iran, the arch enemy of the US, and Israel have also put President Biden in a spot. However, he’s made it clear to Israel that the US won’t take part in its retaliation against the Islamic Republic. 

Mr Trump’s approach, on the other hand, is to prioritise swift resolution, showing less consideration for Palestine, echoing his previous pro-Israel stance. He has also hit out at Mr Biden for his “weakness” in dealing with Iran, especially after the country’s drone attack on Israel. 

Economy

The US economy has bounced back stronger post the pandemic, according to President Biden. He sees this as a major success, citing low unemployment and steady growth with over 14 million new jobs. However, former President Trump disagrees, pointing to rising debt and inflation, leading to a cost of living crisis and discontent among voters. 

Taxes and business concerns are also some of the major issues. Mr Trump’s 2017 tax plan cut rates for individuals and corporations, but Mr Biden plans to raise corporate taxes and top-income tax rates. 

Healthcare

Healthcare remains a pressing issue for Americans, with the US having one of the world’s most expensive healthcare systems. Recent polls indicate that healthcare is a top concern among basic expenses for Americans. Democrats, including President Biden, pledge to support and improve Obamacare, an insurance policy introduced by former President Obama to provide coverage for citizens. 

In contrast, former President Trump sees Obamacare as a failed initiative and advocates for a complete overhaul of the system to ensure affordable healthcare for the US population. 

Immigration

Illegal immigration has been an enormous concern to the US, with Mr Trump accusing Democrats and Mr Biden of encouraging it for political gain. He had initiated the construction of a border wall with Mexico during his term, but Mr Biden stopped funding the project after he was elected, leaving it unfinished.

According to recent reports from the Pew Research Centre, the unauthorised immigrant population in the United States was around 10.5 million in 2021. Among them, Indians make up the third-largest group, with approximately 725,000 people currently living in the country illegally.

Cultural issues

Cultural issues, including race, gender, and abortion, continue to divide the US population. President Biden supports reproductive freedom and opposes the overturning of Roe vs Wade, a landmark ruling that established the right to abortion. This stance contrasts with former President Trump’s support for abortion restrictions, except under certain circumstances. 

The gender issue has also become a point of contention, with approximately 7% of Americans identifying as part of the LGBTQ community. Democrats advocate for freedom of choice and gender-neutral language, while Mr Trump and other Republicans, like Vivek Ramasamy, view it as a threat to traditional values and the Judeo-Christian way of life in American society.

Former United States President Donald Trump has spoken about his wife Melania’s absence from the 2024 presidential campaign. She was recently spotted on Easter Sunday at Mar-a-Lago with her son Barron Trump, where the entire family had gathered for brunch. However, she has been absent from the former US President’s campaign events and multiple court trials.

Her husband’s vote-casting in the Florida primary in February was their last election-related event together, as per a report in the Independent. When asked if was going to campaign with him for the November 2024 elections, she said, “Stay tuned”.

When her husband was campaigning in 2016 and 2020, Mrs Trump frequently stayed at home. She clarified that she wanted to be present for Barron, who was nine at the time, in an interview with 20/20 in 2015. Even after Mr Trump won in 2016, she did not move from the New York penthouse until June 2017.

Discussing her absence from the events, the 45th US President said that Melania Trump would return at an appropriate time. “She’s a private person, a great person, a very confident person, and she loves our country very much. She’ll be – at the appropriate time – she’ll be out there,” Mr Trump said during an interview with Meet the Press in September. Notably, Mr Trump also said that his wife “doesn’t need to be out there”.

Mr Trump had also suggested that keeping Melania out of the limelight during election campaigning was his decision. He said he wanted to “keep her away” from the campaign. “It’s so nasty and so mean,” he said.

In late March, a close aide to the first lady told CNN that Mrs Trump chooses when and how to show up to political functions. On the other hand, it seems that she will become more noticeable as the election approaches. She and her husband will also be hosting a fundraiser on Saturday in West Palm Beach. She will also be present on April 20 at a Mar-a-Lago event for the Log Cabin Republicans.

Her absence sparked “missing” posters to be posted online around the time of the Iowa caucuses. A picture of Mrs Trump with the words, “Have you seen this woman?  Where is our First Lady? Why is Donald Trump hiding her? We miss her. Please call 561-832-2600 if found” was shared widely. 

In an era where technology blurs the lines between reality and fiction, the spectre of deepfakes created by artificial intelligence (AI) tools casts a long shadow over the democratic process. With the upcoming US presidential election looming, the spread of AI deepfakes poses a grave threat to the integrity of the electoral system. And the CEO of a prominent AI company has suggested that the technology could “threaten democracy” in the US unless it is controlled. Many prominent voices, including Elon Musk, have raised concern against the rapid spread of AI and Simona Vasyte is the latest to join the list.

“We’ve seen an AI-generated video of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ‘asking’ Ukrainian soldiers to lay down their weapons. It’s entirely possible to see similar generated videos of presidential candidates right before the election,” Ms Vasyte, the head of Perfection42, told Newsweek.

“Another tactic might be to encourage youth voters not to vote in the election with fake videos on TikTok… If the election is close, it might become a determining factor, and that is definitely concerning,” she added.

The AI boss predicted foreign powers are likely to get involved.

The incident Ms Vasyte talked about happened in March 2023, when an unknown group – believed to be hackers – uploaded a deepfake video onto a Ukrainian news website of Mr Zelensky telling his soldiers to stop fighting. It was debunked, but the news renewed concerns around how deepfakes could be used to influence politics.

Ms Vasyte pointed towards Russia, hinting it might interfere with the election using AI.

“It’s important to note that AI can be used not only for malicious but also for positive content generation, so in that case, it might be the first major ‘AI election’ where both parties will try to keep up with the changing game of campaigning,” she said while speaking to Newsweek.

“The closer the race, the bigger the impact of AI will be during the election period,” Ms Vasyte added.

The tech entrepreneur called for a strong legislation to check the rapid spread of deepfakes.

After a poll revealed that Michelle Obama, former First Lady of the United States, was the leading choice to replace President Joe Biden as the Democratic party’s candidate for the presidential elections, her office has revealed her stand regarding the upcoming presidential elections, as per a report in NBC News.

Michelle Obama has no intentions to run for President, even though many of her supporters are looking forward to this development. She is actively supporting the reelection campaigns of Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden.

In a statement to NBC News, the former first lady’s office made it clear that her plans do not include running for the post of President. Crystal Carson, Director of Communications for her office, said “As former First Lady Michelle Obama has expressed several times over the years, she will not be running for president. Mrs. Obama supports President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ re-election campaign.”

Meanwhile, Obama’s adviser cited her conversation with Oprah Winfrey from last year as evidence of her way of thinking and the reason she would probably never run for office. In a Netflix special, she said, “Politics is hard. And the people who get into it … you’ve got to want it. It’s got to be in your soul, because it is so important. It is not in my soul.”

Last month, she expressed deep fear about the upcoming elections, saying it “haunts” her. “The fact that people think that government-‘eh,, does it really even do anything?’ – and I’m like, ‘Oh my God, does government do everything for us, and we cannot take this democracy for granted.’ And I worry sometimes that we do. Those are the things that keep me up,” she had said.

It is to be noted nearly half of the Democrats who voted in the Rasmussen Reports polls, expressed their choice for someone other than Biden to fight the US Presidential elections. About 48 per cent of the Democrats polled said they approve of the party “finding another candidate to replace Joe Biden before the election in November,” compared to 38 per cent who disapprove.

Michelle Obama got about 20 per cent of votes among other options to replace 81-year-old Joe Biden. The other contenders were Vice President Kamala Harris, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, California Governor Gavin Newsom and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer.