Biden open to reconsidering his candidacy amid pressure from Democratic leaders

US President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that he would be willing to reconsider his re-election bid if medically necessary, and on Wednesday he tested positive for Covid. It may not be a sign from “Mr. Almighty” — the one who could convince him to throw in the towel, he said — but the truth is that Democratic leaders have increased the pressure on the president to consider passing the baton. After that, according to the American media, Biden has been more receptive to thinking about it again and has begun to ask if his vice president, Kamala Harris, would have a chance of defeating the Republican candidate, Donald Trump. Even so, the same sources indicate that for now the president has not changed his idea of ​​fighting for re-election.

Last Saturday’s attack on Trump gave Biden a temporary respite, as he seemed willing to cling on to the nomination, which he won fairly in the Democratic primaries but was called into question after his disastrous presidential debate on June 27 in Atlanta. For a few days, he stopped being the focus of the news, while he regained momentum and resumed his campaign. But the truce did not last long.

Alarm bells rang when it was revealed that the Democratic Party apparatus was still willing to approve an early, fast-track nomination of the candidate, a decision it made in May because of a problem with the registration deadline in Ohio, which expired on August 7. A new state law extends the deadline for candidate registration, but since it is not yet in force, Democrats are wary and do not want to wait until the Democratic convention, scheduled for August 19-22.

The electronic voting schedule could have allowed the nomination to be formally designated next week, but lawmakers have rebelled against such haste. The Democratic National Committee has agreed to halt the process at least until early August, although its intention is still to have the nomination effective before the 7th of that month.

Among those pushing for the extension are Senate Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries. Both have met separately with Biden and have reportedly told him of the risk of losses in both chambers and the difficulties for Biden to beat Trump. In particular, according to ABC News, Schumer strongly argued that Biden would be better off dropping out of the race on Saturday afternoon at a meeting at Biden’s home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, and Jeffries expressed a similar view. A Schumer spokesman called the report “idle speculation,” saying only the president and Senate leader know what was said in that conversation.

When Biden appealed to the Lord Almighty in an interview with ABC News, it was to reject a scenario that seems to be materializing. The interviewer, George Stephanopoulos, asked him if he would withdraw if asked to do so by Democratic leaders in Congress, to which Biden replied that they would not do so. “Are you sure?” Stephanopoulos insisted. “Well, yes, I am sure. Look. If the Lord Almighty came down and said, ‘Joe, get out of the race,’ I would get out of the race. The Lord Almighty is not going to come down. I mean, these hypotheticals…” Biden replied.

Adam Schiff, a California representative who is very close to Nancy Pelosi, the former House Speaker and another Democratic heavyweight, joined the list of congressmen asking him to pass the baton on Wednesday. Pelosi already made a rare intervention last week in which she did not acknowledge that Biden had decided to maintain his candidacy. Subsequently, as reported on Wednesday by CNN, the former House Speaker privately told Biden in a recent conversation that the polls show that the president cannot defeat Donald Trump and that Biden could destroy the Democrats’ chances of winning the House in November if he continues to seek a second term.

CNN was also the first to report the president’s change of heart. “He’s gone from saying ‘Kamala can’t win’ to ‘Do you think Kamala can win?'” an adviser told the news channel. “It’s not yet clear where he’s going to land, but he seems to be listening,” he added.

Biden is also losing support among voters in his own party, according to polls. Early polls after the debate indicated that a majority of citizens wanted him to drop out of the re-election race, but with one very important caveat: most Democrats still wanted him to stay.

Less voter support

That has changed. A new poll by the Associated Press and NORC shows that seven in 10 adults, including 65% of Democrats, say Biden should step down and allow his party to choose another candidate. There are growing doubts about Biden’s mental capacity to be an effective president, and few adults believe he can win in November.

The poll, which was conducted July 11-15 and largely completed before the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, shows 57% of Americans say Trump, too, should drop out of the race and allow his party to name a replacement. But Trump retains support from his party, with 73% of Republicans saying he should be the nominee. Biden faces more resistance from his party, with just 35% of Democrats saying he should remain in the race.

Biden has been adding reasons to the list of reasons why he might withdraw, some more serious and others as a reduction to absurdity, such as being hit by a train. He said he would resign if the “Lord Almighty” asked him to do so (although he did so to reject the hypothesis that congressmen would ask him to do so). But to those two options he has added two more at different times: if he believed he could not win and if it were necessary for medical reasons. Congressional leaders are reluctant to let him run again, fewer and fewer people believe he can defeat Trump and Biden’s health is not at its best.

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