Biden is isolated at home as Obama, Pelosi and other Democrats push for him to reconsider 2024 race
Democrats at the highest levels are making a critical push for President Joe Biden to rethink his election bid, with former President Barack 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 doesn바카라 게임 웹사이트t step away from the 2024 race.
Biden바카라 게임 웹사이트s orbit, already small before his debate fumbling, has grown even smaller in recent days. Isolated as he battles a COVID infection at home in Delaware, the president is relying on a few longtime aides as he weighs whether to bow to the mounting pressure to drop out.
The Biden For President campaign is calling an all-staff meeting for Friday. It's heading into a critical weekend for the party as Republican Donald Trump wraps up a heady Republican National Convention in Milwaukee and Democrats, racing time, consider the extraordinary possibility of Biden stepping aside for a new presidential nominee before their own convention next month in Chicago.
As anxiety and information swirled, Biden바카라 게임 웹사이트s closest friend in Congress and his campaign co-chair, Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, told The Associated Press: 바카라 게임 웹사이트President Biden deserves the respect to have important family conversations with members of the caucus and colleagues in the House and Senate and Democratic leadership. and not be battling leaks and press statements.바카라 게임 웹사이트
Late Thursday, Montana Sen. Jon Tester became the second Democrat in the chamber Biden served in for four decades to call on Biden to step aside, saying in a statement, "I believe President Biden should not seek reelection to another term.바카라 게임 웹사이트
Campaign officials said Biden was even more committed to staying in the race even as the calls for him to go mounted. But there was also time to reconsider. He has been told the campaign is having trouble raising money, and some Democrats see an opportunity as he is away from the campaign for a few days to encourage his exit.
Biden tested positive for COVID-19 while traveling in Las Vegas and is experiencing 바카라 게임 웹사이트mild symptoms바카라 게임 웹사이트 including 바카라 게임 웹사이트general malaise바카라 게임 웹사이트 from the infection, the White House said.
The president himself, in a radio interview taped just before he tested positive, dismissed the idea it was too late for him to recover politically, telling Univision바카라 게임 웹사이트s Luis Sandoval that many people don바카라 게임 웹사이트t focus on the November election until September.
바카라 게임 웹사이트All the talk about who바카라 게임 웹사이트s leading and where and how, is kind of, you know 바카라 게임 웹사이트 everything so far between Trump and me has been basically even,바카라 게임 웹사이트 he said in an excerpt of the interview released Thursday.
But in Congress, Democratic lawmakers have begun having private conversations about lining up behind Vice President Kamala Harris as an alternative. One lawmaker said Biden바카라 게임 웹사이트s own advisers are unable to reach a unanimous recommendation about what he should do. More in Congress are considering joining the nearly two dozen who have called for Biden to drop out.
바카라 게임 웹사이트It바카라 게임 웹사이트s clear the issue won바카라 게임 웹사이트t go away,바카라 게임 웹사이트 said Vermont Sen. Peter Welch, the sole Senate Democrat who has publicly said Biden should exit the race. Welch said the current state of party angst 바카라 게임 웹사이트 with lawmakers panicking and donors revolting 바카라 게임 웹사이트 was 바카라 게임 웹사이트not sustainable.바카라 게임 웹사이트
Obama has conveyed to allies that Biden needs to consider the viability of his campaign but has also made clear that the decision is one Biden needs to make. The former president has taken calls in recent days from members of congressional leadership, Democratic governors and key donors to discuss their concerns about his former vice president.
Pelosi also presented polling to Biden that she argued shows he likely can바카라 게임 웹사이트t defeat Republican Trump 바카라 게임 웹사이트 though the former speaker countered Thursday in a sharp statement that the 바카라 게임 웹사이트feeding frenzy바카라 게임 웹사이트 from anonymous sources 바카라 게임 웹사이트misrepresents any conversations바카라 게임 웹사이트 she may have had with the president.
Video above: Presidential historian on Biden dropping out of race
This story is based in part on reporting from more than half a dozen people who insisted on anonymity to discuss sensitive private deliberations. The Washington Post first reported on Obama바카라 게임 웹사이트s involvement.
Biden said Monday he hadn바카라 게임 웹사이트t spoken to Obama in a couple of weeks.
Pressed about reports that Biden might be softening to the idea of leaving the race, his deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks said Thursday: 바카라 게임 웹사이트He is not wavering on anything.바카라 게임 웹사이트
However, influential Democrats atop the party apparatus, including congressional leadership headed by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, are sending signals of strong concern.
Using mountains of data showing Biden바카라 게임 웹사이트s standing could seriously damage the ranks of Democrats in Congress, frank conversations in public and private and now the president바카라 게임 웹사이트s own few days of isolation, many Democrats see an opportunity to encourage a reassessment.
Over the past week, Schumer and Jeffries, both of New York, have spoken privately to the president, candidly laying out the concerns of Democrats on Capitol Hill. Control of the House and Senate is at stake, and leaders are keenly aware that a Republican sweep in November could launch Trump's agenda for years to come.
Separately, the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Rep. Suzan DelBene of Washington, spoke with the president last week armed with fresh data. The campaign chief specifically aired the concerns of front-line Democrats seeking election to the House.
Major political donors, particularly in Pelosi바카라 게임 웹사이트s California, have been putting heavy pressure on the president바카라 게임 웹사이트s campaign and members of Congress, according to one Democratic strategist. Schumer has told donors and others to bring their concerns directly to the White House.
Prominent California Rep. Adam Schiff, a close ally of Pelosi, called for Biden to drop his reelection bid, saying Wednesday he believes it's time to 바카라 게임 웹사이트pass the torch.바카라 게임 웹사이트 And Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland used a baseball metaphor to suggest in a recent letter to Biden, 바카라 게임 웹사이트There is no shame in taking a well-deserved bow to the overflowing appreciation of the crowd.바카라 게임 웹사이트
To be sure, many want Biden to stay in the race. And the Democratic National Committee is pushing ahead with plans for a virtual vote to formally make Biden its nominee in the first week of August, ahead of the Democratic National Convention, which begins Aug. 19.
Rep. James Clyburn, a senior Democrat who has been a key Biden ally, wrapped up several days of campaigning for Biden in Nevada and said: 바카라 게임 웹사이트Joe Biden has the knowledge. He바카라 게임 웹사이트s demonstrated that time and time again.바카라 게임 웹사이트 He warned against those who he said 바카라 게임 웹사이트have an agenda."
But among Democrats nationwide, nearly two-thirds say Biden should step aside and let his party nominate a different candidate, according to . That sharply undercuts Biden's post-debate claim that 바카라 게임 웹사이트average Democrats바카라 게임 웹사이트 are still with him even if some 바카라 게임 웹사이트big names바카라 게임 웹사이트 are turning on him.
The Biden campaign pointed to what it called 바카라 게임 웹사이트extensive support바카라 게임 웹사이트 for his reelection from members of Congress in key swing states, as well as from the Congressional Black and Hispanic caucuses.
Other Democrats in Congress have shown less support, including when Biden's top aides visited Democratic senators last week in a private lunch. When Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania asked for a show of hands on who was with the president, only his own and a few others including top Biden ally Coons of Delaware went up, according to one of the people granted anonymity to discuss the matter.
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Associated Press writers Joey Cappelletti in Lansing, Mich., and Ellen Knickmeyer, Steve Peoples, Will Weissert, Mary Clare Jalonick, Seung Min Kim and Stephen Groves contributed to this report.