NEW YORK: Former US President Barack Obama recently told allies in the Democratic Party that President Joe Biden’s path to victory has narrowed considerably and he believes the president needs to seriously consider the viability of his candidacy, according to several US media reports published on Thursday.
Reports indicated that Obama had only spoken to Biden once since the debate and had been clear in his conversations with others that the future of Biden’s candidacy was up to the president. He emphasized that his concern is to protect Biden and his legacy, and rejected the idea that he alone can influence Biden’s decision-making process.
Other Democrats, including U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have more openly called on President Biden to withdraw from his campaign amid concerns that he cannot defeat Republican challenger Donald Trump.
Schumer told Biden at a meeting Saturday that it would be better for the country and the Democratic Party if he ended his re-election campaign, ABC News reported Wednesday.
CNN reported Wednesday that Pelosi also told Biden that polls show he can’t beat Trump and that the president could destroy Democrats’ chances of regaining control of the House of Representatives.
Pelosi spoke with Biden in a recent phone call, CNN reported, citing four sources briefed on the call. None of the sources said Pelosi told Biden he should drop out of the race, CNN reported.
A spokesman for Pelosi told CNN that Pelosi had not spoken to Biden since Friday.
Earlier Wednesday, Democratic US Congressman Adam Schiff became the 20th Democrat in Congress to publicly call on Biden to withdraw from the race.
Schiff, a key power broker in Congress, praised Biden but told the Los Angeles Times he doubted the incumbent could defeat Trump — a threat to “the very foundation of our democracy.”
He is one of the most influential members of the party and a key ally in the White House legislature.
He served as chairman of the House intelligence panel when the Democrats held the majority in 2019 and rose to national prominence as the lead prosecutor during the first impeachment trial of then-President Trump.
Meanwhile, Schumer’s office responded to the news of his meeting with the president with a statement calling it “unhelpful speculation” and saying that Schumer “communicated his committee’s views directly to President Biden on Saturday.”
Democratic concerns about the 81-year-old incumbent’s ability to defeat Republican challenger Trump or serve another four years in office grew after Biden pulled out of the June 27 debate.
So far, Biden has refused to drop out, blaming a bad cold and jet lag for his debate debacle, in which he appeared tired and confused.
