Biden May Drop Out ‘This Weekend’, Reports Suggest
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – US President Joe Biden is facing even more pressure to quit the 2024 presidential race, as former President Barack Obama wants him to ‘seriously reconsider’ campaign.
Two key Democratic allies Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer have reportedly privately told Biden that his time is up as he grapples with a COVID diagnosis and a resurgent Donald Trump going from strength to strength since surviving an assassination attempt.
The former House speaker and Senate majority leader have reportedly each held separate talks with the president in recent days, warning that he cannot beat Trump and risks dragging down the entire party in November, The Independent reported.
While publicly Biden has vowed he will stay on the ticket, a source told CNN he is now “more receptive to calls of concern” about his prospects. Reporting by Axios and NOTUS suggests he could drop out as soon as this weekend.
On Wednesday, Biden was forced to pull out of a campaign stop in Las Vegas after he tested positive for the coronavirus.
The White House insists he is only experiencing “mild symptoms” but Biden was seen gingerly walking up the steps of Air Force One in Nevada.
The diagnosis came just hours after the president said he would bow out only “if doctors came to me and said you got this problem, that problem”.