Calls for enfeebled President Biden to call off his re-election bid are not only growing more numerous, but also more powerful, as three top Democratic officials -- Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries -- have all reportedly told the president that his campaign is worse than hopeless.
Suggesting a coordinated effort, news about three separate conversations that happened in the last week all dropped on Wednesday. The gap between the discussions and the reports is likely attributable to a desire to first give Biden a chance to bail out gracefully race before more pressure was added using leaks to the media.
Pelosi was said to have shared specific polling results indicating Biden has no path to victory, and that his continued presence atop the 2024 ticket could doom the Democratic Party's chances of re-taking control of the House. According to CNN's sources, Biden insisted he can win, saying he's seen polls that give him hope that it's a closer race than other say. Trying to bolster her case, Pelosi asked longtime Biden advisor Mike Donilon join the call to review the numbers.
According to a Thursday report in Axios, top Democrats think Biden may decide to drop out of the presidential race as soon as this weekend.
The seeming next step for Pelosi -- and the others -- would be a public statement urging Biden to quit. A Pelosi ally told Politico that such a statement is a possibility, saying, “The speaker does not want to call on him to resign, but she will do everything in her power to make sure it happens."
News of Pelosi's conversation came soon after word that Schumer had his own pointed conversation with Biden on Saturday. In a personal visit to Biden's home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, Schumer was said to have bluntly told Biden that quitting the race would be best for America and the Democratic Party.
Like Pelosi, Schumer attempted to use polling to paint a picture for the defiant 81-year-old. While many national polls show a relatively narrow margin, what counts is the seven battleground states -- and Trump is ahead in all of them. Even CNN's John King recently showed why Trump could be on track for a landslide win. While details are thinner, ABC News reports that Jeffries also voiced the same concerns directly to Biden, politely nudging him to quit.
All of this came on what was already a very rough day for Biden. After looking especially weak speaking from podiums on the campaign trail, the White House announced that Biden had tested positive for Covid-19 and would return to Delaware to isolate while still performing his presidential duties. Notably, as he boarded and exited Air Force One, he was maskless -- something that contravenes a leftist core belief.
More notable than his bare face was his exceedingly frail appearance:
Forget a second term -- will Biden even finish his first?