Barack Obama has reportedly told allies that he wants Democrat President Joe Biden to drop out of the presidential race.
According to a new report from the Washington Post, Obama is calling on Biden to seriously consider the viability of his candidacy.
The two-term former president said Biden’s path to victory has greatly diminished.
Obama’s sentiment was reportedly revealed by multiple people briefed on his thinking told the Washington Post.
In calls with anxious Democrats, Obama has reportedly said he is concerned polls are moving away from Biden.
Obama said that Biden’s campaign no longer has a future as donors are abandoning the president.
However, Obama pushed back against the idea that he alone could influence Biden.
Obama insists that his concern is protecting his former vice president’s legacy.
He has told allies that his role is that of a sounding board for Biden.
Some of Biden’s aides have blamed Obama for not keeping the party united behind his candidacy, according to the Post.
Yet, the Washington Post is not the only corporate media outlet reporting Obama’s doubts over Biden’s bid for re-election.
Sources have also reportedly told the Associated Press that Obama has privately expressed concerns to other Democrats about Biden’s candidacy.
Obama has been noticeably silent as pressure continues to mount against his former vice president.
Meanwhile, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has warned the president that his candidacy could hurt Democrats down ticket.
Pelosi warns that Biden’s weak candidacy could prevent Democrats from winning the House.
According to reports, Pelosi showed Biden polling indicating that he likely can’t defeat President Donald Trump.
Pressed about reports Biden might be softening to the idea of leaving the race, his deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks said:
“He is not wavering on anything.”
Meanwhile, some of the president’s most ardent internal defenders believe the writing is now on the wall.
“We’re close to the end,” a person close to Biden reportedly told NBC News.
Another person who spoke with a senior campaign official said there was a sense they were nearing a point of no return.
“They’re finally realising it’s a when, not if,” the person said.
Despite his public confidence, there has been a shift behind the scenes in the president’s openness to stepping aside, according to people close to Biden.
One Biden ally described the dynamic around the president as “sad.”
“There’s no excitement in this campaign at all,” another ally told NBC.
But even as more calls come in for Biden to step aside, there is no plan for an alternative, a campaign official said.
And there is some anger among voters in battleground states that the president they voted for is being chased off the ballot, aides have cautioned.
