A person familiar with Mr. Biden’s thinking warned that he had not yet decided to abandon the race, after claiming for three weeks that almost nothing would remove him from the race.
By Michael D. Shear, Peter Baker and Katie Rogers
July 18, 2024
On Thursday, July 18, several close aides to President Joe Biden revealed that he may be beginning to accept the idea that he may not be able to win the November election. He may have to give in to the demands of many anxious party members and step down from the race.
One person close to the president warned that Biden had not yet decided to give up the race after claiming for three weeks that almost nothing would remove him from the race. But another said he was “facing the reality,” and would not be surprised if Biden announced his support for Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor soon.
The report was based on interviews with four people close to the president. They all described the situation as very subtle, and requested anonymity not to offend the president. President Biden is isolating at his holiday home in Rehobos Beach, Delaware, after being diagnosed with COVID-19 on Wednesday.
Many other Democrats further from the White House have said there are growing expectations within the party that the president will soon step down. This contrasts with how just a few days ago many felt hopeless about changing his mind. But there have been voices calling for caution in interpreting the president’s extremely small signals.
The most recent breakaway from the Democratic Party is known to be Jamie Raskin, a Maryland congressman. He was a key member of the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. In a July 6 letter to President Biden, Raskin compared the 81-year-old president to an exhausted baseball pitcher, urging him to consult with his fellow Democrats on whether to continue his campaign. “Everything we believe in is in crisis for the next four and a half months,” Raskin wrote.
White House officials have denied claims that the president is leaning toward resignation. They have dismissed the contrary reports as the result of a coordinated intelligence leak campaign by Democratic leaders to increase pressure on Biden. They said the president is listening and taking the concerns seriously, but he has not changed his position on resignation and has made clear to aides over the past 24 hours that he is determined to remain in the race.
Mike Donilon, a longtime Biden senior adviser and one of Biden’s most loyal aides, told the president that despite Democratic reservations and some polls, the race was still possible, arguing that he still had a way to win. The president’s family also supported him to hold out, citing his long history of overcoming adversity and his experience of defeating skeptics.
A self-respecting, stubborn President Biden retains the memory of succeeding everything he was told was impossible, and the more he is forced to change, the more he tends to become stubborn. But calls to step down this time are coming from the very Democrats who have been his most important ally over the years, not from people around him or from media critics. It marks an astonishing fall for a president who has valued relations with Congress.
Understanding Biden’s psychology and considering his current condition, several people familiar with the discussions said aides were hesitant to rush him to answer as he suffers from COVID-19. His doctor told the president on Thursday that he did not have a fever but was experiencing respiratory symptoms.
Biden’s woes come amid a deepening crisis surrounding his presidency. He has come across first-hand polling showing that his supporters are leaving him and are losing heavily in every contested state.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said she is one of the president’s most loyal supporters, but she is pessimistic about his chances of winning. She has made her case using her political map, poll data, and knowledge of fundraising. When a recent call claimed Biden could win, Pelosi called for “turn Donilon on the phone,” citing her own poll showing the opposite. This was a direct challenge to the president and an indication that he was not being provided enough information.
Pelosi did not deny that she shared data that she could not win with the president and asked what other data was on which his decision was based.
“Speaker Pelosi respects the confidentiality of meetings and conversations with the President of the United States,” the spokesperson said. “Unfortunately, media overheated reports based on anonymous sources distort the conversations the Speaker has had with the President.”
The political drama surrounding Biden’s future intensified as former President Donald Trump officially accepted the party’s nomination on the final day of the Republican National Congress in Milwaukee and Biden is said to be experiencing minor symptoms from Covid.
“I’m fine,” said President Biden, who arrived in Delaware on Wednesday night, stopping for a moment and waving. He began treatment with Paxlovid, which can reduce COVID symptoms.
Publicly, the presidential team continued to make headway. Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to North Carolina to campaign and argued for Biden’s second term.
White House press secretary Andrew Bates dismissed the idea that the president could step down for Harris or other Democrats. “The president has told both leaders that he is the party’s nominee, that he plans to win, and that he looks forward to working with the two to pass a 100-day agenda to help working families,” Bates said. T.J. Ducklo, a campaign spokesman, added, “He’s running for reelection, and that won’t change until he does.”
But openly calling for Biden’s resignation