Members of President Biden’s inner circle are convinced he cannot defeat former President Donald Trump in November and are working to persuade Mr. Biden to quit the campaign, according to bombshell reports Thursday.
Aides within the administration and campaign are trying to convince Mr. Biden that concerns about his age and vitality would result in a loss for the presidential ticket and down-ballot Democrats, according to the New York Times and others.
“He needs to drop out,” a Biden campaign official told NBC News. “He will never recover from this.”
Aides who are nudging Mr. Biden would have to convince the president that Vice President Kamala Harris or another alternative would be able to replace him without causing chaos in the Democratic Party.
Mr. Biden, 81, has insisted he is not quitting the race despite the turmoil sparked by his confused and sometimes incoherent debate performance against Mr. Trump on June 27.
On Thursday, the White House scoffed at reports his inner circle is turning against him.
SEE ALSO: Two-thirds of Americans think Biden should drop out, poll finds
“Unequivocally, this is not true. President Biden’s team is strongly behind him,” White House senior deputy press secretary Andrew Bates told The Washington Times.
Some congressional Democrats have rallied behind the president, yet his prospects dimmed when former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi this week said it is up to Mr. Biden to decide his future — hardly an endorsement. Actor George Clooney, who recently held a big Hollywood fundraiser for Mr. Biden, penned a cutting op-ed that called the president a dear friend but urged him to step aside for the good of the country.
The New York Times report said the president still believes he can beat Mr. Trump, making it the biggest impediment to efforts to oust him.
For instance, an ABC News/Washington Post poll released Thursday found two-thirds of Americans think Mr. Biden should drop out, and yet Mr. Biden remained statistically tied with Mr. Trump in the same poll.
Yet aides who leaked their concerns say the president is on an unsustainable path and will bring down other Democrats in November.
“I worry that the symbol of our party is the person who’s running for president and that that does absolutely trickle down to the down-ballot races,” a state party chair told NBC News.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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