Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) reportedly had a “blunt” conversation with President Joe Biden last weekend, telling him it would be best if Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race.
ABC News reported Wednesday that Schumer had a blunt conversation with Biden last Saturday in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. In that conversation, it was made known to Biden that support from elected party leaders is crumbling.
“I sat with President Biden this afternoon in Delaware; we had a good meeting,” Schumer said in a statement on Saturday.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries has also expressed the same view, suggesting that Biden should exit the race in favor of another candidate.
“Unless ABC’s source is Chuck Schumer or President Joe Biden the reporting is idle speculation. Leader Schumer conveyed the views of his caucus directly to President Biden on Saturday,” a spokesperson for Schumer’s office said in a statement.
Last week, Jeffries met with Biden at the White House as the two men discussed the concerns from the Democratic leadership.
“In my conversation with President Biden, I directly expressed the full breadth of insight, heartfelt perspectives and conclusions about the path forward that the Caucus has shared in our recent time together,” Jeffries wrote in a letter.
The news comes after Rep. Adam Schiff called on Biden to exit the 2024 race in a statement earlier Wednesday afternoon.
“But our nation is at a crossroads,” he said. “A second Trump presidency will undermine the very foundation of our democracy, and I have serious concerns about whether the President can defeat Donald Trump in November.”
In a statement on Wednesday night, the White House said Biden informed both men that he is staying in the race.
“The President told both leaders he is the nominee of the party, he plans to win, and looks forward to working with both of them to pass his 100 days agenda to help working families,” said White House spokesperson Andrew Bates.
