WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Barack Obama has called on Democrats to Joe Biden’s Candidacy for PresidentHouse Speaker Emeritus Nancy Pelosi has privately warned Biden that Democrats risk losing control of the House of Representatives if he doesn’t drop out of the 2024 presidential race, according to people familiar with the nuances of the internal affairs.
Pelosi also presented polling results for Biden and argued that Biden cannot possibly win. Republican Donald TrumpAccording to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity,
What you need to know about the 2024 election
Two other people familiar with the matter said Obama has not spoken directly to Biden. He has told allies that Biden needs to consider the feasibility of running a campaign, but has also made clear that the decision is up to Biden to make.
With time running out, top Democratic Party officials Biden rethink His reelection challengeAnxiety is growing within the White House and campaign at a tense time for the president and his party.
Biden has insisted he is the winning candidate and has no plans to back down. Trump “He’s not going to waver on anything,” deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks said Thursday when asked about reports that Biden might be softening his thoughts about quitting the race.
Another person familiar with the matter said the president has become more determined in recent days to continue the campaign.
But leading Democrats at the highest levels of the party, including the Senate Majority Leader and other members of the congressional leadership, Chuck Schumer House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries“The Biden administration has been very vigilant in its response to the election, and we are very grateful for that,” Biden said.
Using a wealth of data, candid conversations in public and private, and the president’s own campaign hiatus, that show Biden’s position could sweep Democrats in Congress, Tested positive for COVID-19Many Democrats see it as an opportunity to prompt a reevaluation.
President Joe Biden walks to his car after disembarking Air Force One at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, Wednesday, July 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
If Democrats are seriously preparing to take the extraordinary step of replacing Biden and putting Vice President Kamala Harris at the top of the nomination list, this weekend will be crucial in changing the president’s mind, people familiar with the private conversations said.
Some say the time is now, ahead of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago and a virtual roll call for the party’s nominations scheduled for early August.
Senators Schumer and Jeffries, both of New York, met privately with the president last week and candidly expressed congressional Democrats’ views, including their own concerns.
Meanwhile, Rep. Suzan DelBene of Washington, the chair of the Democratic House Campaigns Committee, met with the president last week armed with the latest data and specifically voiced concerns from frontline Democrats seeking House elections.
And on Wednesday, California Rep. Adam Schiffis a close ally of Pelosiurged Biden to give up on reelection and said he thought it was time to “pass the baton.”
In a radio interview recorded shortly before his positive COVID-19 test, Biden rejected the idea that it was too late to bounce back politically, telling Univision’s Luis Sandoval that it was still too early and that many people wouldn’t focus on the November election until September.
“The story of who leads, where and how, you know, it’s basically a tie so far between Trump and me,” he said in excerpts of the interview published Thursday.
National polls show the race is close, with some suggesting Trump has a lead, some state polls have issued warnings for Biden, and a recent New York Times/Siena poll suggests a tight battle is expected in Virginia. Biden wins In the 2020 match.
The tension over Biden’s chances of winning the election is particularly high. Last weekend’s assassination attempt on President Trump and Republican National Convention With the presidential debate underway in Milwaukee, Democrats know they have limited time to sort out the turmoil within their party following a lackluster performance in last month’s presidential debate.
Indeed, many Democrats want Biden to continue in the race. And the Democratic National Committee has Virtual vote to officially make Biden the candidate In the first week of August Democratic National ConventionIt starts on August 19th.
ABC News published new details late Wednesday about Biden’s private weekend meeting with Schumer at the president’s beach resort in Delaware, saying Schumer told the president that “it would be better for the Democratic Party and the country if I stepped aside.” A spokesman for Schumer called the report “unfounded speculation.”
White House press secretary Andrew Bates said Biden told Schumer and Jeffries “I am the nominee of my party, I intend to win, and I look forward to working with them to pass a 100-day package to help working families.”
But nearly two-thirds of Democrats nationwide say Biden should step aside and allow the party to nominate another candidate. AP-NORC Center for Public Policy Research PollThis significantly weakens Biden’s post-debate claim that “average Democrats” are still on his side, even if some “big names” have turned against him.
The White House said Biden tested positive for COVID-19 while traveling in Las Vegas on Wednesday and was experiencing “mild symptoms” of the infection, including “general fatigue.” The president had been campaigning for the past few days and was scheduled to return to his Delaware Beach home before his positive test.
Schiff’s announcement gives Biden withdraw from the presidential election In the wake of His dismal debate performance to Trump last month.
Schiff said Biden’s withdrawal “will enable him to defeat Donald Trump in the next election and secure his legacy of leadership.”
Schiff is a leading figure in the Democratic Party, and his comments, Pelosi.
Pelosi Doubts about Biden resurface After the debate, she recently said, “It’s up to the president to decide what to do,” but Biden has already made it clear he has no plans to step down. The former House speaker has publicly supported the president, but since the night of the debate, she has fielded calls from Democrats asking what she’ll do next.
In response to Schiff’s comments, Biden’s campaign noted that Biden and his reelection bid have “extensive support” from lawmakers in battleground states and from the Black and Hispanic Congressional Caucus. The campaign noted that about a dozen members of the Congressional Black Caucus accompanied Biden to Nevada this week.
Associated Press Washington correspondent Sagar Meghani reports that President Biden is self-isolating at his Delaware beach house after testing positive for COVID-19 during a trip to Las Vegas.
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Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick and Leah Ascarinam contributed to this report.
