Barack Obama has reportedly told friends that Joe Biden needs to reconsider whether he should remain as the Democratic nominee, as the President battles with Covid.
Following Biden’s disastrous debate performance last month, many voters and party leaders’ support of the President has waned. Whilst Obama initially came out to defend his former Vice President, he has since stayed silent whilst pressure on the 81-year-old to step down mounts.
Obama has only reached out to his friend once since the debate, and now sources claim that he has privately expressed concerns to other Democrats about Biden’s candidacy.
The former President is not the only Democrat with hesitations about the 81-year-old’s suitability for the role.
Barack Obama has reportedly told friends that Biden needs to reconsider whether he should remain as the Democratic nomineePAEx-house speaker Nancy Pelosi has privately warned the President that his candidacy could prevent Democrats from winning the House.
She showed the 46th President polling that said he likely cannot defeat Donald Trump, and cautioned him about Trump gaining ground in battleground states that Biden won back in 2020.
Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer reportedly told him in a “one-on-one conversation” over the weekend that it would be best to “drop out”.
Representative Adam Schiff has also joined a growing list of critics, including award-winning actor George Clooney, in urging Biden to let another candidate run as the Democratic Party’s nominee. He cited “serious concerns” about Biden’s ability to beat Trump in November.
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Nancy Pelosi has privately warned the president that his candidacy could prevent Democrats from winning the House
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He said that the “choice to withdraw from the campaign is President Biden’s alone,” but that he believes it is time for the 81-year-old to “pass the torch”.
Biden, who yesterday contracted coronavirus, has been relentless in batting away concerns about his age and competency. The 46th President has now conceded that he would be willing to step down, but only on one very specific condition.
Asked if there was any reason he would leave the race, Biden said: “If I had some medical condition that emerged, if somebody, if doctors came to me and said, you got this problem and that problem.”
Following an initial wave of calls to step down, Biden said: “I want you to know that despite all the speculation in the press and elsewhere, I am firmly committed to staying in this race, to running this race to the end, and to beating Donald Trump.”
Joe Biden pulled out of a speech at the last minute after testing positive for Covid
REUTERS
Sources claim that Obama has privately expressed concerns to other Democrats about Biden’s candidacy
REUTERS
Biden added: “I can respond to all this by saying clearly and unequivocally: I wouldn’t be running again if I did not absolutely believe I was the best person to beat Donald Trump in 2024.”
Republican insiders believe that Trump’s chances of returning to the White House have improved since Biden’s latest series of blunders, namely the debate and also a recent mishap where he mistakenly called Volodymyr Zelensky ‘President Putin’ before correcting himself at a Nato summit.
A Republican strategist, who was previously critical of Trump’s chances, told GB News: “Trump, as it stands now, will beat Biden.
“Biden had yet another disastrous conference last night with Nato. It was awful.”