Joe Biden is holed up in his Rehoboth Beach home with his wife Jill as his campaign prepares to hit the road again next week, even as another Democrat calls on him to drop out of the presidential race.
No other members of the Biden family are with the president and first lady. Jill was already at her $3.4 million beach house when the president arrived there Wednesday night, the East Wing reported.
President Biden has been resting following his COVID diagnosis, but he’s preparing to get back to work. And while he said he’ll stay in the race, he’s “doing some soul searching.”
“He is doing some soul searching, I know that for a fact,” one source told Reuters. “He is thinking about this very seriously.”
The second thoughts come as more Democrats urge him to rethink his bid for a second term.
President Joe Biden is holed up at his Rehoboth, Delaware, beach house with his wife Jill Biden; the couple is seen above on the beach in August 2023
Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin, who led the investigation into the Jan. 6 insurrection, is the latest to voice doubts about Biden, joining other party leaders who have expressed doubts about Biden’s ability to beat Donald Trump in November.
The White House has repeatedly denied that Biden is dropping out of the race. Officials are moving forward to plan his next round of meetings and events.
Biden is expected to meet with Benjamin Netanyahu next week when the Israeli prime minister is in town to address a joint session of Congress.
That meeting was originally scheduled for Monday, but the White House said the date could change depending on Biden’s recovery from COVID.
Netanyahu speaks to lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.
“We have every expectation that the two leaders will have an opportunity to meet when Prime Minister Netanyahu is in town,” White House spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Thursday.
“I can’t tell you exactly what that will look like right now, but as we get closer, we’ll probably be able to provide you with more information,” Kirby said.
Biden is also scheduled to go on a campaign fundraising tour later this week, reaching out to wealthy donors in Texas and California as he makes the case for his candidacy.
Meanwhile, the president still has “mild upper respiratory symptoms” but no fever as he battles COVID, the White House said Thursday.
The president continues to take Paxlovid, his physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, said in a letter released by the White House press office.
“The President continues to experience mild upper respiratory symptoms associated with his recent COVID-19 infection. He continues to receive Paxlovid,” O’Connor wrote.
“He has no fever and his vital signs remain normal.”
President Joe Biden exits Air Force One Wednesday night as he returned from Las Vegas, where he was diagnosed with COVID-19.
As Biden isolates himself to protect his health, more and more Democrats are expressing doubts about him.
The tide may be turning. A senior Democratic congressional official told DailyMail.com there is a “high” chance Biden will end the mandate, but the timing is “fluid.”
This comes after it was revealed that Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin wrote to Biden asking him to reconsider his re-election bid.
In a four-page letter dated July 6 and obtained by The New York Times, Raskin begins with effusive praise for the president, his record and his legacy.
Then, however, he changes his tone and compares Biden to an exhausted pitcher about to deliver the winning run to the competition in the big game.
Raskin used the example of Boston Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez, the pitcher who was left on the mound during the eighth inning of Game 7 of the 2003 American League Championship Series despite being tired.
Martinez allowed three runs, tying the game before the Yankees won with an 11th-inning home run that denied the Red Sox a trip to the World Series.
“There is no shame in bowing to the crowd’s overwhelming appreciation when your arm is tired, and there is real danger to the team if you ignore the statistics,” Raskin wrote.
‘Your situation is complicated because you are our star pitcher and our coach. But in a democracy, as you have shown us more than any previous president, you are not a coach acting alone; you are the co-coach along with our great team and our great people. Meet with the team, Mr. President. Listen to them. You will make the right decision.’
Raskin’s letter was the latest in a series of revelations from top Democrats, leading to speculation that Biden could drop out of the race within days.
Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin asked President Biden to reconsider staying in the race
Former President Barack Obama (left) has told allies of President Joe Biden (right) that he believes the president’s path to victory has been greatly narrowed.
Former President Barack Obama has told allies that Biden should seriously consider his candidacy, The Washington Post reported on Thursday.
Obama is said to believe Biden’s path to victory has narrowed greatly, but thinks the president should make the decision to step down himself.
Meanwhile, Axios reported Democratic sources believe that the call to drop out of the race will put pressure on Biden to make the decision to step aside, which could happen as early as this weekend.
Biden, defiant, has publicly insisted that he will be the Democratic nominee and that only God or a “medical condition” would force him to withdraw. So far, he has received support from members of his family, first lady Jill Biden and his son Hunter, in his decision to stay.
But privately he has begun to realize that might be unsustainable, with polls showing him losing to Trump and surveys showing widespread concerns about his age and health that he is unlikely to overcome.
Private conversations he has had with top Democrats in Congress have begun to leak this week, with reports saying that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Speaker Emeritus Nancy Pelosi and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries have all told Biden some hard truths.
They warned the president that he would lose the White House and that he could take majorities in Congress with him.
In total, 20 Democrats have urged Biden to drop out of the race.
But others remain loyal to the president and are visibly angry about the leaks, arguing they are damaging to the party as a whole.
“I cannot tell you how embarrassed I am to hear all these leaks about what the Democrat leaders are doing and not have any of them here to confirm or deny it. It is a lack of leadership and is making all Democrats look bad,” Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar wrote on X.
“Anything that comes from this disaster will not repair the damage that has already been done. May God help us all.”
