WASHINGTON — With President Joe Biden facing mounting pressure to end his bid for re-election, sources say the President’s campaign is nearing the point of collapse amid calls from within his own party to exit the race.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi all spoke to Biden recently, informing him the polling and new numbers show that he does not have a path to 270 electoral votes needed to defeat Donald Trump in November.
Rep. Adam Schiff publicly called on Biden to exit the race on Wednesday, saying he needs to “pass the torch” to a new generation.
“While the choice to withdraw from the campaign is President Biden’s alone, I believe it is time for him to pass the torch,” he said Wednesday. “And in doing so, secure his legacy of leadership by allowing us to defeat Donald Trump in the upcoming election.”
New AP-NORC polling found that 65 percent of Democrats now believe Biden should withdraw, undermining the President’s claim that only party “elites” and insiders want him to withdraw.
Biden is currently in Delaware after testing positive test for Covid, which forced him to cut short a campaign event in Nevada on Wednesday.
Democrats have talked in recent days about replacing Biden with Vice President Kamala Harris, despite her low approval rating.
“The president deserves the respect of having conversations about our path forward constructively and privately and in a way that allows us as a Democratic Caucus to come together in support of our nominee, who I believe will be Joe Biden,” Sen. Chris Coons, a key Biden ally said to reporters on Thursday.
Still, those with knowledge of the conversation say that many in the Biden campaign, White House, and members of the cabinet feel the end is near for the President.
“They may be starting to read the writing on the wall,” said one of the people familiar with the private conversations.
