Joe Biden spoke at the NATO ceremony in Washington. Nikki Haley, meanwhile, is giving Donald Trump a boost. All information in the news blog.
4.35 am: Concern is growing among Democrats in the US Congress about President Joe Biden’s chances of being elected. As the seventh Democrat in the US House of Representatives, Mikie Sherrill on Tuesday publicly called on the 81-year-old incumbent to end his ailing re-election campaign. “The stakes are too high – and the threat is too real – to remain silent,” she said.
Another Democratic senator also said that Biden could not win. “Donald Trump is well on his way to winning this election, and possibly even by a landslide. He could then take over the Senate and the House of Representatives,” Democratic Senator Michael Bennet told CNN. When asked if Biden should end his campaign, he replied: “That is something the president should consider.”
3 o’clock: No slip-ups, but a powerful speech: US President Joe Biden gave his speech in front of the eyes of the world at a ceremony to mark NATO’s 75th anniversary in Washington – there were no embarrassments. Biden’s every move is currently being watched in the debate about the 81-year-old’s physical fitness. After his NATO speech, the US President must have breathed a sigh of relief. Because unlike his TV debacle a week and a half ago against his Republican challenger Donald Trump, Biden did not lose the thread.
This was mainly due to one of Biden’s loyal helpers: the teleprompter. Biden read the entire text of his speech from the prompter – as is usual at such events. Even when he thanked NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on stage for his performance, he did not look directly at him most of the time, but read the text. Biden awarded Stoltenberg the Presidential Medal of Freedom, one of the highest civilian awards. The medal was also put on without a blunder. Biden spoke – unlike in the TV debate – powerfully and also much more clearly.
The real test for the US president is still to come: on Thursday he wants to hold a press conference at the end of the NATO summit. He will have to react spontaneously – the teleprompter will not be able to help him.
1 O ‘clock: Former rival within the party Nikki Haley is throwing her support behind presidential candidate Donald Trump ahead of the Republican Party Convention. The 52-year-old has released the delegate votes she won in the primaries, US media reported, citing Haley’s team. The Republican encouraged the 97 delegates at the party convention next week in Milwaukee to vote for Trump as the presidential candidate.
The former US ambassador to the United Nations had been fighting a week-long duel with Trump in the Republican primary for the presidential nomination, but had no chance and finally admitted defeat. Immediately after her withdrawal, Haley demonstratively refrained from expressing her support for Trump.
“The nominating convention is a time for Republican unity,” Haley wrote, according to media reports. US President Joe Biden is not capable of serving a second term, and Vice President Kamala Harris would be a “disaster for America,” said Haley. “We need a president who will hold our enemies accountable, secure our border, cancel our debt, and get our economy back on track. I encourage my delegates to support Donald Trump next week in Milwaukee.” She will not attend the convention itself, it was said. Trump had already ruled out making her a candidate for vice president a few weeks ago.