A failed debate against rival Donald Trump, several calls for resignation, and then a COVID diagnosis – right in the middle of the intense campaign period.
The setbacks for USA's President Joe Biden are growing. But he has not yet given any signs of wanting to give up his presidential candidacy.
Congressman and top Democrat Adam Schiff is the latest in a constantly growing list of party colleagues who are urging Joe Biden to step aside. Despite this, the President appears to be standing firm in his decision.
I'll continue and we'll win, said Biden during a campaign meeting on Saturday.
The same evening, his opponent Donald Trump was injured in a shooting at a campaign meeting outside Pittsburgh. Many analysts believe that the assassination attempt could have decided the autumn's presidential election in Trump's favor.
"Bunker mentality"
According to USA expert Andreas Utterström, Biden's ego and stubbornness play a role in his decision to stay in the fight.
He seems to be in a bunker mentality where he doesn't seem to trust opinion polls, he says to TT.
Utterström believes that the best way Democrats could replace their presidential candidate is to appeal to Biden's ego.
They could blame him with the question "do you want this to be your legacy?". All he will be remembered for, after 40 years in Washington, is that he didn't step down in time, he says.
The first sentence of his obituary will be that he lost to Trump.
Decides himself
Biden has been reported to be more "willing to listen" to arguments for why he should step down, writes The New York Times and refers to a source close to Biden. But he does not show any signs of being close to changing course.
In the end, the decision of whether he should stay in the presidential campaign or not is up to him, Utterström believes. No one can force him to step down.
But it's clear that if influential Democrats were to come together and write a debate article in The New York Times, it would be difficult for him to stay.
If the President ultimately decides to listen to the voices urging him to step down, Utterström believes that the next Democratic presidential candidate is a given:
(Vice President) Kamala Harris. Partly because she's next in line, partly because the money they've collected for the campaign is tied to Biden and Harris. She's also a non-white woman who has been loyal for four years and you can't just ignore that, he says.
It wouldn't look good to choose someone else when Democrats say they're the party of women.
