The New York Times, a liberal newspaper and the most important in the United States that usually supports Democratic Party candidates, clashed openly with the White House this Wednesday after publishing an article about Joe Biden’s continuity in the presidential race, which was quickly refuted by the government and indirectly by the President.
In the article published in the online edition of The Times, it is stated that Biden told a key ally that “he knows he may not be able to salvage his candidacy if he cannot convince voters that he is up to the job after a disastrous debate performance last week.”
In addition, the anonymous source is quoted as saying, “He knows if he has two more events like that, we’re in a different place.”
This Friday Joe Biden will give an interview to George Stephanopoulos of ABC News and will have campaign events in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
The AP agency has also reported that the next few days are crucial for Joe Biden's candidacy.
Since his poor performance in the debate, Biden's public appearances have been scarce and after his speeches read from a teleprompter, he has refused to answer journalists' questions. However, on Tuesday afternoon at an event with supporters of his candidacy, he acknowledged that he did not have a good debate and that he was tired that day.
"Absolutely not"
Immediately, the White House came out to deny that President Biden is considering withdrawing his candidacy.
Through his account on X, Andrew Bates, a government spokesperson, said “that claim is absolutely false. If the New York Times had provided us with more than 7 minutes to comment we would have told them so.”
Later, in a conversation with journalists, Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, said, "absolutely not," when asked if Biden is considering resigning from the presidential candidacy. She then added, "That is completely false. And this comes directly from him."
Several media outlets, including the New York Times, reported that the president held a virtual meeting with his campaign team on Wednesday afternoon and told them, “I’m in this race to the end.” He also mentioned, “We will win because when Democrats come together, we always win.”
The role of the New York Times
Last Friday, less than 24 hours before the presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, in an unprecedented editorial, The New York Times asked the current president to withdraw his candidacy.
“Mr. Biden has been an admirable president. Under his leadership, the nation has prospered and begun to address a range of long-term challenges, and the wounds ripped open by Mr. Trump have begun to heal. But the greatest public service Mr. Biden can now perform is to announce that he will not continue to run for re-election,” wrote in one of the paragraphs that became worldwide news.