WASHINGTON –
Four years ago, candidate Joe Biden stood before supporters at a Detroit high school, flanked by Kamala Harris and other rising Democratic stars, and called himself a bridge to the next generation of leaders.
Biden, now a U.S. president seeking re-election, returns to the city Friday with many in his party now pleading for him to fulfil that very promise and step aside. But Biden remains defiant that he’ll remain in the race despite a disastrous debate performance that triggered a wave of calls for him to end his candidacy.
During a news conference on Thursday, when asked why he no longer considered himself a “bridge” to the next generation of leaders, Biden responded that “what changed was the gravity of the situation I inherited in terms of the economy, foreign policy, and domestic division.”