Democrats at the highest levels are making a critical push for President Biden to rethink his election bid, with former President Obama expressing concerns to allies and Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi privately telling Biden the party could lose the ability to seize control of the House if he doesn’t step away from the 2024 race.
Biden is taking calls to step aside as the Democratic presidential candidate seriously and multiple Democratic officials think an exit is a matter of time, according to sources familiar with the matter.
“His soul searching is actually happening, I know that for a fact,” said one of the sources, who requested anonymity. “He’s thinking about this very seriously.”
Biden, 81, has faced increasing pressure from heavyweights in his party to cede his position at the top of the ticket after a shoddy debate performance against former President Trump, the Republican nominee, raised fears about his age and ability to win in November.
The president has pushed back defiantly against those calls, arguing that he has won millions of votes in primary races over the last several months and is Democratic voters’ choice. As recently as Wednesday, he vowed “I am all in” the 2024 race.
The president himself, in a radio interview taped just before he tested positive for COVID-19, dismissed the idea it was too late for him to recover politically, telling Univision’s Luis Sandoval that many people don’t focus on the November election until September.
Biden, 81, has faced increasing pressure from heavyweights in his party to cede his position at the top of the ticket after a shoddy debate performance against former President Trump, the Republican nominee, raised fears about his age and ability to win in November.
“All the talk about who’s leading and where and how, is kind of, you know — everything so far between Trump and me has been basically even,” he said in an excerpt of the interview released Thursday.
But a Democratic congressional aide said the writing appeared to be on the wall for the president after lawmakers, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, reportedly urged him to drop out of the race.
“It feels like it’s a matter of … when, not if,” the aide said.
Democratic Senator Chris Coons of Delaware, a close Biden ally, told CNN on Thursday that Biden will be “resting and reflecting” this weekend as he recovers from COVID-19.
He has been asking for information on polling data and weighs seriously the input of those he trusts and admires, Coons said, adding he thinks Biden is the best candidate to run in 2024.
Biden is convalescing at his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. He had no public events on Thursday after concluding a trip to the political swing state of Nevada on Wednesday.
Biden’s campaign is focusing on three out of seven battleground states after the debate, a narrow path to victory, but it has rejected suggestions that he is ready to step aside.
“It’s looking very tight” in Arizona, Georgia and Nevada,” a senior campaign official told Reuters. “Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin is the clearest path to 270. That is what we’re focusing on.”
“He is not wavering on anything. The president has made his decision,” Deputy Campaign Manager Quentin Fulks said in Milwaukee, where the Republican convention is taking place. “Joe Biden has said he is running for president of the United States. Our campaign is moving forward.”
Another source, a Biden campaign official, said the opposite. “Yes, it’s over. Just a matter of time.”
Democratic lawmakers have voiced fears that Biden would lose not only the White House, but also the House of Representatives and Senate to the Republican Party.
Democratic Senator John Hickenlooper of Colorado said he believed that Biden was working toward a decision on whether to stay in the presidential race and would opt for what is good for the country.
“Joe Biden has always put the country first. He’s done what’s best for America… I think he’ll keep doing so,” Hickenlooper told Reuters late Wednesday, adding there are indications it would be best for the U.S. if he stepped aside.
Pelosi backed Representative Adam Schiff’s call for Biden to step aside, a top White House source with direct knowledge of the matter said. But a source close to Pelosi — one of the most influential members of Biden’s Democratic Party — said that Schiff did not consult with Pelosi before making his concerns public.
– Wire services. Edited for style.
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