Former President Barack Obama is reportedly pressuring President Joe Biden, his two-term vice president, to reconsider his 2024 presidential campaign, the Washington Post reported.
Obama and Biden have reportedly only spoken once since the current president's disastrous first debate performance on June 27, but stressed that his former running mate's chances of defeating former President Donald Trump were "greatly diminished," according to sources with knowledge of the situation. Additionally, Obama is reported to be fielding calls with Democrats on Capitol Hill, including House Speaker emerita Nancy Pelosi, regarding Biden's campaign status.
Both Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, regarded as two of the most influential senior Democrats in Congress, have both privately advised Biden of a potential landslide loss for the party in November. Biden is reported to now be "receptive" about potentially dropping out of the 2024 election during private conversations, a senior Democratic adviser told CNN late Wednesday (July 17).
“The private conversations with the Hill are continuing,” the adviser said while speaking on the condition of anonymity to avoid being alienated by the Biden campaign and White House. “He’s being receptive. Not as defiant as he is publicly.”
Biden, 81, the oldest president in history, has been defiant to criticism publicly, as was reported to be the case behind closed doors previously, which included addressing the concept of Vice President Kamala Harris replacing him.
“He’s gone from saying, ‘Kamala can’t win,’ to ‘Do you think Kamala can win? “ the adviser said. “It’s still unclear where he’s going to land but seems to be listening."
Biden campaign spokesman Kevin Munoz dismissed the report, claiming the president still intends to represent the Democratic party in November.
“If the facts matter – and they should – here is one: President Biden is the Democratic nominee and he is going to win this November,” Munoz told CNN.
An excerpt released Wednesday from a BET interview taped on Tuesday (July 16) showed Biden claiming a a medical condition would be a potential factor causing him to consider dropping out of the 2024 presidential election.
“If I had some medical condition that emerged, if somebody, if doctors came to me and said, you got this problem and that problem,” Biden said.
The clip was shared hours before the president tested positive for COVID-19, according to Janet Murguia, the president of UnidosUS, a conference in which the president was scheduled to appear in Las Vegas.
“Regrettably, I was just on the phone with President Biden and he shared his deep disappointment at not being able to join us this afternoon. The president has been at many events, as we all know, and he just tested positive for Covid," Murguia said on Wednesday (July 17) via NBC News.