Tipsheet

COVID Torpedoes Biden's Campaign Trip to Nevada

Matt Vespa
Matt Vespa  |  July 17, 2024 6:15 PM

To pile onto an already insane week, where the nation witnessed the attempted assassination of former president Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, Joe Biden, who is facing persistent questions about his health and fitness for office, has tested positive for COVID. His planned address at the UnidosUS conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, has been canceled along with all other scheduled events on this trip:

This diagnosis came when the president appeared to have provided an escape hatch for himself, saying he would drop out of the race should a medical condition arise (via NYT): 

President Biden said in an interview released on Wednesday that he would re-evaluate whether to stay in the presidential race if a doctor told him directly that he had a medical condition that made that necessary. 

Mr. Biden has said repeatedly that none of his doctors have told him he has a serious medical condition. Dr. Kevin O’Connor, the White House physician, wrote after the president’s physical in February that Mr. Biden is “a healthy, active, robust, 81-year-old male who remains fit to successfully execute the duties of the presidency.” 

But his disastrous performance at a debate with former President Donald J. Trump last month, which prompted a wave of calls by Democratic allies to step aside, raised questions about his health and acuity. 

In an interview with Ed Gordon of BET News, Mr. Biden was asked if there was anything that would make him re-evaluate staying in the race. 

“If I had some medical condition that emerged, if somebody, if doctors came to me and said, you got this problem and that problem,” Mr. Biden said, according to a brief excerpt released by the network. 

Biden has faced renewed push from Hill Democrats to drop out. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) recently told donors that the Democratic Party faces an electoral wipeout if Biden remains in the race. He formally called on Biden to exit the race today. The DNC also scuttled plans for a rushed virtual roll call vote on Biden's nomination today. Is the dam about to break?

UPDATE: Biden is heading back to Delaware. CNN's Wolf Blitzer aghast the president wasn't wearing a mask. Yes, the walk up those little stairs onto Air Force One was brutal.

UPDATE II: Biden was spreading his viral load all over restaurants in Las Vegas today. 

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