Is Joe Biden in a position to take on another presidential campaign and possibly another term in the White House? The first major televised debate against Donald Trump on June 27 gave voters a clear view of Joe Biden's state of fatigue. The current president appeared very confused and at times lost to his predecessor, who didn't fail to take advantage of his opponent's weakness. At the end of Joe Biden's umpteenth incoherent sentence, for example, Donald Trump was quick to retort: "I really don't know what he said at the end of that sentence. I don't think he knows either".

For months now, the Democratic Party and the media supporting Biden have been trying to play down his condition, pointing to the quality of his medical check-ups and the demanding pace of his schedule. Joe Biden himself justified his performance at the debate by saying that too much travel in the days leading up to the showdown had caused him to "almost fall asleep on stage". Yet his diary shows that he spent the six days leading up to the debate quietly, with no public activity, in order to be ready.

The question of whether he should run for a second term is now being raised within his own camp. Some Democratic congressmen are no longer hesitating to do so in public, like Texan Lloyd Doggett: "I am hopeful that he will make the difficult and painful decision to step down. I respectfully urge him to do so". Several newspapers, including the prestigious New York Times, have officially called for his withdrawal from the presidential race.

Some names have already begun to circulate, led by Kamala Harris. The vice-president, already destined to succeed the president in the event of incapacity or death, seems to be the Democrats' most obvious choice in the event of Joe Biden's withdrawal. Gavin Newsom, Governor of California and former Mayor of San Francisco, Gretchen Whitmer, Governor of Michigan, and Josh Shapiro, Governor of Pennsylvania, are also being considered.

But with four months to go to the polls, it's a risky bet. In any case, it will be necessary to act quickly and with smooth communication to deal with a Donald Trump at the top of his game.