WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats at the highest levels are making an important effort President Joe Biden To reassess his reelection bid, former President Barack Obama expressed personal concerns to allies and Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi told Biden privately that the party could lose its ability to take control of the House if he did not drop out of the 2024 race.
Pelosi gave Biden the vote, which she argued was invincible Republican Donald Trump – In a sharp statement Thursday, the former speaker countered that “food frenzy” from anonymous sources “misrepresents any conversations” he had with the president.
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Democratic unrest is growing in the White House and on the campaign trail at a critical moment for the president and his party in the run-up to next month’s party convention.
Obama has told aides that Biden will have to consider the credibility of his campaign, but has made clear that the decision is up to Biden. The former president has fielded calls in recent days from top members of Congress, Democratic governors and major donors to discuss concerns about his former vice president.
Biden has insisted he won’t back down and is adamant he is the winning candidate Trump Do it before and again. Pressed about reports that Biden might be soft on the idea of dropping out of the race, his deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks said Thursday: “He’s not soft on anything.”
If anything, the president has become more committed to staying in the race in recent days, according to a person familiar with the internal discussions.
This story is based on reporting from more than half a dozen people who insisted on anonymity to discuss sensitive private discussions. Obama’s intervention was first reported by the Washington Post.
Democrats are influential in the party apparatus, including the Congressional leadership led by the Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffreys, sending signals of concern. Some Democrats believe Biden will leave the campaign trail Tested positive for Covid-19The coming days will take a fresh look at Race’s path and his legacy.
President Joe Biden walks to his car after disembarking from Air Force One at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, Wednesday, July 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Using the mountains of data showing Biden’s position could seriously damage the ranks of Democrats in Congress, open conversations in public and private, and now that the president’s own few days in isolation, many Democrats see an opportunity to encourage a reassessment. He is reportedly having trouble raising campaign money.
If Democrats are seriously preparing an extraordinary move to replace Biden with Vice President Kamala Harris, this weekend could be critical to changing the president’s mind, people familiar with the private conversations said.
It’s now or never ahead of a planned virtual roll call in early August to suggest the party’s choice, one said, ahead of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
In the past week, both Schumer and Jeffries, who are from New York, have spoken privately with the president, voicing the concerns of Democrats on Capitol Hill.
Control of the House and Senate is at stake, and leaders are well aware that a Republican victory in November could launch Trump’s agenda for years to come.
Separately, the representative from Washington, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Suzanne Delphine spoke to the president last week with the new data. The campaign chairman specifically aired the concerns of leading Democrats seeking election to the House.
Major political donors, particularly in Pelosi’s California, have put heavy pressure on the president’s campaign and members of Congress, according to one Democratic strategist.
And on Wednesday, California Rep. Adam SchiffA close associate PelosiBiden called for dropping his re-election bid, saying he believed it was “time to pass the torch.”
Biden, in a radio interview taped shortly before testing positive for COVID-19, dismissed the notion that his political recovery was too late, telling Univision’s Luis Sandoval that many people don’t focus on the November election until September.
“You know all the talk about who’s leading, where, how — everything between Trump and me so far has been basically equal,” he said in a segment of the interview released Thursday.
Biden said Monday that he had not spoken to Obama in two weeks.
Attention to Biden has waned somewhat, especially since then Last weekend’s assassination attempt on Trump And so on Republican National Convention Underway in Milwaukee, Democrats know they have little time to resolve party tensions after the president’s botched debate show last month.
Of course, many want Biden to stay in the race. The Democratic National Committee is spearheading the plans A virtual vote to officially make Biden the nominee In the first week of August, earlier Democratic National ConventionIt starts on August 19.
Rep. James Clyburn, a senior Democrat who has been a key Biden ally, said after days of campaigning for Biden in Nevada: “Joe Biden has knowledge. He has proven it time and time again. He warned against those he said “have an agenda.”
Late Wednesday, ABC News reported new details about Biden’s private meeting with Schumer over the weekend at the president’s beach home in Delaware. It said Schumer told the president “it would be good for the Democrats and good for the country if he bows out.” A Schumer spokesman called the report “pure speculation.”
White House spokesman Andrew Bates said Biden told Schumer and Jeffries, “He is the party’s nominee, he plans to win, and we look forward to working with both of them to accomplish his 100-day agenda to help working families.”
But among Democrats nationwide, nearly two-thirds say Biden should step aside and that his party should nominate another candidate. AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. It sharply undercuts Biden’s post-debate claim that “average Democrats” are still with him despite some “big names” turning on him.
The White House said Biden tested positive for COVID-19 while traveling in Las Vegas on Wednesday and is experiencing “mild symptoms” from the infection, including “general malaise.”
Schiff’s announcement brings to nearly 20 the number of Democratic members of Congress calling on Biden. He should withdraw from the presidential election. Schiff is a prominent Democrat, and his report is important because of his proximity. Pelosi.
In response to Schiff’s comments, the Biden campaign pointed to “broad support” for him and his re-election bid from members of Congress in key swing states and the Congressional Black and Hispanic caucuses.
Other Democrats in Congress have shown less support, including last week when Biden’s top aides visited Democratic senators for a private lunch. Sen. from Pennsylvania. When John Fetterman asked for a show of hands to show who was with the president, his own and a top Biden ally of Delaware, Sen. Only a few went above, including Chris Koons, said one of the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the matter. matter.
AP Washington reporter Sagar Meghani reports that President Biden is self-isolating at his Delaware Beach home after testing positive for COVID-19 while traveling in Las Vegas.
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Associated Press writers Joey Cappelletti in Lansing, Mich., and Will Weisert, Mary Claire Jalonik, Leah Ascarinum and Stephen Groves contributed to this report.
