Joe Biden needs to reconsider his election bid: Barack Obama

Presidential_Portraits_82277 — File photo: President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama shake stand together on stage during an event about the Affordable Care Act, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, on April 5, 2022. Image Credit: AP

Washington: Former US president Barack Obama has told allies that Joe Biden needs to reconsider his reelection bid, the Washington Post reported on Thursday.

Obama believes that Biden's path to victory has diminished and that the 81-year-old should "seriously consider the viability of his candidacy," the newspaper said, citing people briefed on his thinking.

It said there was no immediate comment from Obama, who was in office while Biden was vice president from 2009 to 2017 and who remains hugely influential in the Democratic party.

Obama would be the most heavyweight Democrat so far to join a growing chorus in the party calling for Biden to drop out, following a disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump.

Biden, who is isolating with Covid at his beach house, has rejected concerns about his age and fitness and insisted that he is staying in the race for the White House.

Pressure is mounting, though, with Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries also both reportedly meeting with Biden in recent days to warn that his candidacy threatens his party's prospects in November's election.

'Close to the end'

Influential former House speaker Nancy Pelosi added to his woes by privately telling Biden he cannot win and could harm Democrats' chances of recapturing the lower chamber, CNN and the New York Times reported.

The Axios news outlet quoted party figures as saying that Biden could drop out as soon as this weekend, while broadcaster NBC quoted a person close to Biden as saying: "We're close to the end."
Biden's campaign however insisted that he was staying in the race.

The United States could now be approaching the climax of an extraordinary period of political drama.

Any move to replace Biden on the ballot, with Vice President Kamala Harris leading the contenders, would likely come ahead of the Democratic National Convention starting in Chicago on August 19.

Biden has said she "could be president" but would not step down unless hard polling data or a medical condition persuaded him he could not beat Trump in November.