By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
US President Joe Biden faces new pressure to step aside because of his age – with his campaign activity currently halted due to a Covid-19 infection.
Biden, 81, was experiencing mild symptoms and has received his first dose of the antiviral drug Paxlovid, according to his doctor.
“I feel good,” Biden, who is fully vaccinated and boosted, told reporters Wednesday in Las Vegas, flashing a thumbs-up before boarding Air Force One to head to his Delaware residence. The president will self-isolate there in line with US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance.
The US president was due to deliver an address to UnidosUS – the nation’s largest Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organisation – in Las Vegas.
Biden – who is facing mounting pressure to quit the presidential race over his age – wasn’t wearing a mask as he boarded Air Force One from Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas.
Asked by the press how he was feeling, the 81-year-old said: “Good. I feel good.”
He then walked cautiously up the stairs to his plane.
It is a sudden and debilitating end to a trip that was supposed to see Biden hitting the campaign trail again with full force – after the pause sparked by the attempted assassination of his rival Donald Trump.
Biden’s re-election attempt was already being buffeted by growing dissent among Democrats in Congress after his disastrous debate performance against Trump last month.
And now it is hitting even more turbulence as Air Force One bounces its way through the hot air above Nevada and the president up front is struck by another unexpected blow.
This election campaign feels like it is moving at a chaotic, unpredictable pace.
Biden’s illness comes as he faces growing calls to withdraw from the election race.
During their separate private meetings with Biden, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries expressed deep concern that his candidacy could negatively impact other House and Senate races, US media report.
Nancy Pelosi, too, is said by CNN to have told the president in a recent conversation that polling suggests he could harm the Democrats’ chances of winning the House in November as well as the presidency.
With inputs from various news agencies.