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Amid growing concerns that the sitting president may not be able to serve a second term, key Democrats, including Representative Nancy Pelosi, believe they are close to persuading President Joe Biden to end his campaign, according to multiple reports.
Publicly, Biden has repeatedly rejected calls to drop out of the race and insists he remains the best candidate to defeat presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump.
But top Democratic leaders privately believe the president is warming to the idea, according to multiple reports.
Pelosi, a key Biden ally, told House Democrats that Biden could be persuaded to stop campaigning soon, according to three Democratic officials familiar with the former House speaker’s conversations. The Washington PostBiden tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday and is currently in isolation.
A spokesperson for Pelosi’s office did not respond to Business Insider’s request for comment.
“Speaker Pelosi respects the confidentiality of her meetings and conversations with the president of the United States,” a spokesman for Pelosi told The Washington Post.
As calls for Biden to suspend his campaign grew, Democratic leaders including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told major donors they were developing contingency plans in case Biden were to withdraw from the race, according to people familiar with the discussions. The Wall Street Journal.
A spokesman for Schumer told The Wall Street Journal that many people have approached the senator with their ideas, but he has not taken any action.
The erosion of confidence in Biden’s prospects may also be extending to members of the president’s Cabinet, some of whom have privately debated whether Biden’s closest advisers should confront him about his campaign, the people said. Bloomberg.
According to a Bloomberg report, the private meeting covered topics including Biden’s health and his ability to defeat Trump.
Four anonymous sources close to Biden said The New York Times The president has begun to acknowledge that his chances of winning the election are fading.
One source told The New York Times that “reality is setting in” and that it wouldn’t be a surprise if Biden were to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris in the near future, but another of the four sources cautioned the paper that Biden hasn’t made a decision yet.
Meanwhile, a source close to Biden said He told CNN The president remains unconvinced about the withdrawal.
White House spokesman Andrew Bates declined to comment and referred BI inquiries to the Biden campaign.
“The President won 14 million votes in the Democratic Primary and became his party’s nominee. He is seeking reelection and will remain so until he is re-elected,” Biden campaign spokesman TJ Ducklo said in a statement to BI.