Incumbent US President Joe Biden and his rival former president Donald Trump have a televised debate on June 27, 2024 local time in a CNN studio in Atlanta, Georgia. Photo: VCG

Amid growing debate over whether or not to end his re-election campaign, US President Joe Biden vowed to "stay in the race" in a rare prime-time ABC News interview. However, the Friday night TV interview "did little to ease the concerns" of the Democratic Party.

Analysts said that the division within the Democratic Party reflects serious problems with the electoral politics of American political parties in selecting candidates, and that those internal divisions will further intensify as discussions about Biden's replacement continue.

In Biden's first television interview since his late June CNN debate with former President Donald Trump, the 81-year-old president dismissed his debate performance as just a "bad episode" and said only the "Lord Almighty" could convince him to end his bid for re-election, BBC reported.

When reminded that he was behind in recent polls, Biden said, "I don't buy that." He further stated that "I don't think anybody's more qualified to be president or win this race than me."

However, Biden's interview does not seem to have quelled an uprising within his own party to end his re-election campaign, according to BBC. There is growing unease among Democrats.

The New York Times said on Saturday that interviews with more than 50 Democrats showed that numerous officials, lawmakers and strategists in Biden's own party increasingly see his candidacy as unsustainable.

Also on Saturday, a fifth Democratic lawmaker said openly that Biden should not run again. According to AP, Angie Craig of Minnesota said he should step aside "and allow for a new generation of leaders to step forward."

The current divisions within the Democratic Party highlight serious problems in the electoral politics of the US, Li Haidong, a professor from the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Monday.

Li noted that US electoral politics indicates that all goals serve the election. However, the discussions within the Democratic Party about replacing Biden reflect people's concerns about US gerontocracy, and also show that there are problems within the party in terms of selecting candidates, Li said.

According to Reuters on Sunday, pressure that Biden will face from Congress is expected to be ramped up in the coming days as lawmakers return to Washington from a holiday recess and donors mull their willingness to keep funding Biden's campaign.

"The intensification of further divisions within the Democratic Party is an inevitable trend," Li said. On the one hand, if Biden does not withdraw from the election, the voices of division within the party will continue to exist. On the other hand, if Biden does withdraw, there will still be different opinions about who will become the new candidate, and it is also very difficult for the party to complete the selection of the new nominee within a limited time, the expert noted.