President Joe Biden has become “more receptive” to the idea of stepping aside and allowing a younger Democrat to take on Donald Trump in November, according to new reports.
Biden, 81, has been under pressure to drop his bid for a second term since his disastrous debate performance against the Republican nominee in June. The president struggled to respond and frequently appeared to lose focus.
These latest reports, both from CNN and The New York Times, came as Biden appeared frail as he stepped off Air Force One following his Covid-19 diagnosis in Las Vegas.
CJanuary Rep. Nancy Pelosi was previously reported to have told Biden she does not believe he can win reelection.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries have both expressed concern about Biden’s chances against Trump. So far, Rep. Adam Schiff of California is the most prominent Democrat to call for Biden to drop out of the race.
Biden tested positive for COVID-19 during a trip Wednesday to Las Vegas and is experiencing “mild symptoms”
Representative Nancy Pelosi is believed to have expressed her concerns about the president’s chances directly to him.
A ‘senior Democratic’ source said CNN that ‘talks on Capitol Hill continue’ over Biden’s fate.
“He’s being receptive, not as defiant as he is publicly. He’s gone from saying, ‘Kamala can’t win,’ to, ‘Do you think Kamala can win? ‘ It’s not yet clear where that’s going, but he seems to be listening,” the source said.
The Times echoed CNN’s scoop, reporting that among the questions Biden has been asking his inner circle is “how Vice President Kamala Harris could win.”
The Times also cites an anonymous source who said Biden is “willing to listen” to alternatives to his candidacy.
CNN reported that when Pelosi spoke to Biden on the phone about polling data, the president responded with a counterattack, prompting the longtime Democrat to ask Mike Donlion, one of Biden’s most trusted advisers, to get on the phone.
For its part, the official line of the Biden campaign remains that Biden will be the nominee.
“If facts matter – and they should – here’s one: President Biden is the Democratic nominee and he’s going to win this November,” spokesman Kevin Muñoz told the network.
The party appears to be moving ahead with a virtual vote to nominate Biden in August.
The decision to schedule the roll call, which would come weeks before the Democratic National Convention opens in Chicago on Aug. 19, follows calls by nearly 20 Democratic members of Congress for Biden to withdraw.
Sen. Chuck Schumer reportedly told Biden that “it would be better for the party” if he stepped aside.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has expressed concerns about Biden’s chances in November.
Rep. Adam Schiff is the most prominent Democrat so far to call for Biden to step aside.
ABC News has reported new details about Biden’s private meeting over the weekend with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer at his beach house in Delaware.
He added that Schumer told the president that “it would be better for the Democratic Party and better for the country if he would withdraw.”
A spokesman for Schumer called the report “idle speculation.” Leader Schumer conveyed his caucus’ views directly to President Biden on Saturday.
White House spokesman Andrew Bates said Biden told Schumer, as well as House Speaker Jeffries, that “he is the party’s nominee, he plans to win, and he looks forward to working with both of them to pass his 100-day agenda to help working families.”
Among Democrats nationwide, nearly two-thirds say Biden should step aside and let his party nominate a different candidate, according to a new AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll, sharply undermining Biden’s post-debate claim that “average Democrats” are still with him even if some “big names” are turning against him.
Biden tested positive for COVID-19 during a trip Wednesday to Las Vegas and is experiencing “mild symptoms,” including a “general malaise” from the infection, the White House said.
“While the decision to withdraw from the campaign is President Biden’s alone, I believe it is time for him to pass the torch,” Schiff said in a statement. “And in doing so, he will secure his legacy of leadership by enabling us to defeat Donald Trump in the upcoming election.”
