Prominent Democrats lined up to defend Joe Biden on Sunday as a new poll showed nearly three-quarters of US voters think he should end his re-election campaign following his disastrous debate performance.
A campaign damage control effort kicked into overdrive at the weekend amid calls from many Democrats for the 81-year-old president to stand aside in favour of a younger candidate because of concerns about his age and fitness for office.
These calls were added weight by a CBS News-YouGov poll released on Sunday that showed 72 per cent of registered voters think Biden should not be running for president, up from 63 per cent in February.