US President Biden Tests Positive For COVID-19
United States President Joe Biden tested positive for COVID-19 while visiting Las Vegas, Nevada on Wednesday.
The 81-year-old president is currently self-isolating and experiencing mild symptoms, according to the White House.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated that President Biden is fully vaccinated and has received his COVID-19 booster shots.
Despite his vaccination status, Biden was forced to cancel a scheduled speech in Las Vegas due to his positive test result.
As Biden boarded Air Force One to depart Las Vegas and return to Delaware to recover, reporters observed him climbing the stairs slowly, holding the railing tightly and pausing a few steps in and again towards the top.
This display of physical exertion raised concerns among observers, as the president’s health and fitness have been a subject of discussion, particularly in the context of his potential re-election campaign.
The president’s COVID-19 diagnosis comes as he faces increasing pressure from within his Democratic party to reconsider his plans to run for a second term in 2024.
At 81 years old, Biden would be the oldest president in U.S. history if he were to be re-elected, a factor that has fueled speculation about his physical and cognitive capabilities to serve a full four-year term.
The COVID-19 diagnosis comes at a crucial time for Biden, who has been losing ground in battleground states against Republican Donald Trump, who survived an assassination attempt on Saturday.
Biden, who had spent two nights in Las Vegas on the campaign trail, was diagnosed with COVID-19 shortly after his visit.
This illness comes just hours after the emergence of an excerpt from a recorded interview in which Biden said that he would only consider dropping out of the presidential race if he were told to do so due to a medical condition.
During an interview with Ed Gordon of BET News, Biden was directly asked if there was anything that would make him rethink his candidacy for a second term in the White House.
In response, the president made it clear that he is determined to continue his bid. Said Biden:
If I had some medical condition that emerged, if somebody, if doctors came to me and said, ‘you got this problem and that problem’.
Biden previously said only the “Lord Almighty” could persuade him to withdraw from the race.
He first tested positive on July 21 2022, recovered on July 27, but then tested positive with a rebound case on July 30, before finally being cleared on August 7.
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