BREAKING: Nancy Pelosi has told US House Democrats that President Biden can be "persuaded fairly soon" to exit the 2024 presidential race.
New reports from Fox Business state that President Biden may drop out as soon as tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/fHarCYzSJ5
— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) July 18, 2024
Source close to Biden pushes back on calls for him to step aside.
A source close to Biden is blaming senior Democratic leaders for “[giving] us Donald Trump,” as calls for Biden to step aside grow.
“Can we all just remember for a minute that these same people who are trying to push Joe Biden out are the same people who literally gave us all Donald Trump? In 2015, Obama, Pelosi, Schumer pushed Biden aside in favor of Hillary; they were wrong then, and they are wrong now,” the source told NBC News.
The source pointed to polling in the 2016 election that found Hillary Clinton leading by as much as 9 points.
“How did all this work out for everyone in 2016? Perhaps we should learn a few lessons from 2016; one of them is polls are BS, just ask Sec. Clinton. And two, maybe, just maybe, Joe Biden is more in touch with actual Americans than Obama-Pelosi-Schumer?” the source added.
That is unusually blunt language representing the views of the people closest to Biden, who are increasingly frustrated with the lack of loyalty from party leaders. It shows that the scars of 2015, when Biden felt pushed aside by Obama in favor of Clinton, are still showing.
Senator Manchin: “If you just wait until this weekend.. I believe we will have a clearer view of what is happening [with Biden].
.@ryanobles: “Are you personally confident that [Biden] has what it takes to not only continue this election but then to serve for another four years?”
Sen. Manchin: “If you just wait until this weekend … I believe we’ll be able to have a better, clearer view of what’s… pic.twitter.com/AYqjzh9Ngb
— NBC Politics (@NBCPolitics) July 8, 2024
Top Democrats Claim Biden Will Drop Out This Weekend
Democrats in conversations with the upper echelon of White House leadership believe President Joe Biden is readying an announcement that he will no longer seek reelection.
The report by Axios states that a decision by the embattled president may come as soon as this weekend, according to insiders who asked for confidentiality to discuss private conversations. Co-founders Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen, titans of the Washington, D.C. political class with extensive contacts, wrote that growing pressure from top Democrats including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) might finally have become too great to brush aside.
The imminent about-face will likely be made not long after Biden recovers from a bout of Covid. He remains in isolation and without a public schedule, forcing him to be alone with his thoughts as he contemplates just how badly Election Day could go for his party if he refuses to step aside. Even former President Barack Obama, one of Biden’s closest allies, isn’t stopping former advisors like David Axelrod or liberal celebrity George Clooney from openly calling on Biden to drop out.
From Axios:
The private message, distilled to its bluntest form: The top leaders of his party, his friends and key donors believe he can’t win, can’t change public perceptions of his age and acuity, and can’t deliver congressional majorities.
The president is being told that if he stays in, former President Trump could win in a landslide and wipe away Biden’s legacy and Democrats’ hopes in November.
BREAKING: Several top Democrats privately tell Axios the rising pressure of party congressional leaders and close friends will persuade President Biden to decide to drop out of the presidential race, as soon as this weekend.
— unusual_whales (@unusual_whales) July 18, 2024
h/t Stephen