Joe Biden tested positive for COVID-19 on July 17th, 2024. He cut short his campaign trip to Las Vegas soon after the diagnosis. The 81-year-old Democrat gave a thumbs up to the media from his limousine as he moved towards his beach house in Delaware for isolation. 

Joe Biden also stated that he would consider dropping his problematic and troubled re-election if he gets diagnosed with any serious medical condition. The White House said he was suffering from a runny nose, cough, and “general malaise,” was taking Covid medication, and was flying straight to isolation at his beach house in Rehoboth, Delaware. 

The diagnosis came a few hours after his recent interview on Tuesday, where he stated about dropping the re-election and stepping out as a candidate if any serious medical condition emerged. Concerns about his age were also raised when he had a disastrous debate with Trump about three weeks ago. He looked exhausted and confused, and people worried about his health. 

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden had tested positive shortly after the first in a series of events in Las Vegas targeting crucial Latino voters.

“He is vaccinated and boosted, and he is experiencing mild symptoms. He will be returning to Delaware where he will self-isolate and will continue to carry out all of his duties fully during that time,” Jean-Pierre said.

One statement read that he had received the COVID drug called Paxlovid and had also taken the first dose.” His symptoms remain mild, his respiratory rate is normal at 16, his temperature is normal at 97.8 and his pulse oximetry is normal at 97 percent,” it added.

 ‘I feel good’ Biden later leaned out of his limousine, dubbed the Beast, as he arrived at a Las Vegas airport to give the thumbs up. “Good,” he said to the press as he walked to Air Force One without a mask. “I feel good.”

Jannie Perrie, the president of the Unidos Union for Latino workers, informed the crown soon after his diagnosis before the white house statement. “I was just on the phone with President Biden, and he shared his deep disappointment at not being able to join us this afternoon,” she said.

Because of his depleting health, many democrats are suggesting Joe Biden step in as the outcry for Biden’s health is now set to go into overdrive. A top democrat representative, Adam Schiff of California, has also urged Biden to let the reelection go.

“A second Trump presidency will undermine the very foundation of our democracy, and I have serious concerns about whether the President can defeat Donald Trump in November,” Schiff said in a statement to the Los Angeles Times.

Around 20 House Democrats and one senator have suggested that Biden should leave the White House race. Most polls show Biden trailing the election in a tight race with Trump. Biden was insisting that the Democrats were on his side. However, a recent poll by the Associated Press and NORC has revealed that two-thirds of the democrats want him to drop his re-election.