US President Joe Biden on Friday reportedly came closer to dropping out of the White House race, as allies including Barack Obama expressed concern he could no longer win the 2024 election.
The 81-year-old Democrat was confined to his beach house due to Covid while multiple US media reports said he was considering his re-election future amid growing opposition within his party.
The New York Times quoted several people close to Biden as saying they believe he has begun to accept that he could lose to Republican rival Donald Trump in November and may have to withdraw from the election, with one person saying: “Reality is setting in.”
It quoted the person as saying that it would not be surprising if Biden soon endorses Vice President Kamala Harris to replace him as the Democratic nominee.
Meanwhile, former President Obama reportedly told aides that Biden should “seriously consider the viability of his candidacy,” The Washington Post reported. His office declined to comment.
The Axios news outlet separately quoted party leaders as saying Biden could withdraw from the election as early as this weekend, while broadcaster NBC quoted a person close to Biden as saying: “We are close to the end.”
Biden’s candidacy has been in jeopardy for three weeks since a disastrous televised debate against Trump.
However, his campaign denied these reports and insisted he would remain in office.
“He is running for re-election. Baseless speculation from anonymous sources is not news,” campaign official T.J. Ducklo said on X.
Harris did not comment on the crisis in a speech in battleground North Carolina but praised the president, saying “the difference between Joe Biden and Donald Trump is like night and day.”
He also took aim at Trump’s new running mate J.D. Vance and said this is “the most existential, consequential and important election of our lifetime.”
– Symptoms of Covid –
While rival Trump prepares for his star performance at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Thursday, Biden finds himself isolated both personally and politically.
His personal physician, Kevin O’Connor, said Thursday that Biden was still experiencing mild Covid symptoms and taking the drug Paxovid, but his vital signs remained normal.
“He will continue to work for the American people,” O’Connor said in a letter released by the White House.
His COVID diagnosis came at the worst possible time for his campaign, forcing him to cut short a trip to Las Vegas and isolate at his vacation home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
Biden told reporters on Wednesday that he was “doing well” but later appeared frail as he slowly descended the steps of Air Force One.
The voice of Democrats against Biden is growing, with 20 members of the House of Representatives openly calling on him to resign.
The top Democrats in Congress, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, both reportedly met with Biden in recent days and warned that his candidacy could jeopardize their party’s chances in the November election.
According to reports from CNN and the New York Times, the influential former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi added to Biden’s woes by privately telling him he could not win and that it could hurt Democrats’ chances of retaking the lower chamber.
Meanwhile, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Biden was being “kept updated” by his team despite the political turmoil and his illness.
Although the split-screen with Donald Trump couldn’t have been more clear, with Trump set to formally accept the Republican nomination in Milwaukee while Biden sat in.
Republicans find themselves united after an assassination attempt on Saturday on former President Trump, who is just three years younger than Biden, left him with a bandage on his ear. Trump, 78, was the subject of an assassination attempt on Saturday, leaving him with a bandage on his ear.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
