Joe Biden suspects two long-time allies are behind a campaign to oust him, confidential sources have revealed.
The president is currently recovering from Covid-19 at his Delaware beach house in Rehoboth, but is said to be furious at the betrayal.
Several elected Democrats have publicly called on him to resign following his disastrous performance in the presidential debate with Donald Trump last month.
The calls have only increased in recent days and leaks to the media further damage the president’s prospects.
Experts told the New York Times that Biden suspects former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is stirring the waters, with her former running mate Barack Obama acting as a “puppet master” behind the scenes.
Joe Biden suspects two longtime allies are behind campaign to oust him, confidential sources say
Both politicians, along with New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, have recently been in the news spotlight claiming they are predicting a devastating defeat for Democrats in November.
Obama’s own former advisers have also come out to publicly disavow the president, without any comment from his former boss.
Biden and Obama forged a friendship by working closely together during the former president’s two terms, but he has offered little public support.
The two appeared together at a glamorous Hollywood fundraiser in June, where Obama was said to be “shocked” by Biden’s deterioration.
Obama reportedly told allies that the president should seriously consider whether to stay in the race, as speculation mounts that he could drop out within days.
He Washington Post reported Thursday that Obama — who has spoken to Biden only once since the disastrous debate — believes Biden’s path to victory has narrowed greatly but thinks the president needs to make the decision to step down himself.
Meanwhile, public calls from sitting Democrats for Biden to step down continue to mount, particularly from Pelosi.
The president is reported to have noted that those who recently came out, including Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Rep. Adam B. Schiff and at least nine House Democrats, including Rep. Zoe Lofgren, are all close to Pelosi.
Sen. Jon Tester of Montana became the second Senate Democrat to call on the president to drop his reelection bid.
Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico (left) and Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts (right) are among those calling for the president to drop out of the race.
Additionally, Sen. Jon Tester of Montana this week became the second Senate Democrat to call on the president to drop his re-election bid.
On Friday, Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts reiterated his concerns in a Boston Globe article where he shared that his “mentor and friend” Biden did not appear to recognize him at a D-Day commemoration in France in June.
“Of course, that can happen as you get older, but when I watched the disastrous debate a few weeks ago, I have to admit that what I saw in Normandy was part of a deeper problem,” Moulton said.
Despite the growing cacophony of dissenting voices, Biden has insisted he plans to continue in the race and his team has strongly denied there could be an announcement in the coming days.
“I look forward to returning to the campaign trail next week to continue to expose the threat of Donald Trump’s Project 2025 agenda, while defending my own record and the vision I have for America: one in which we save our democracy, protect our rights and freedoms, and create opportunity for all,” Biden said Friday.
Campaign manager Jennifer O’Malley Dillon told MSNBC that the president is “absolutely” still in the race, though she acknowledged the difficult current conditions.
“The American people know the president is older,” he said. “They see it.”
“They knew that before the debate. Yes, of course, we have a lot of work to do to make sure that we’re reassuring the American people that, yes, he’s old, but he can do the job and he can win.”