Former President Barack Obama told “allies Biden needs to seriously consider his viability,” multiple people briefed on his thinking told the Washington Post on Thursday.
The report joins a flurry of damaging leaks against Biden in the last 24 hours that are apparently meant to pressure him to drop out of the 2024 presidential race. Biden cannot be forced from the ticket. He could only be replaced on his own terms.
Obama, who reportedly does not have a positive relationship with Biden, said Biden “needs to seriously consider the viability of his candidacy,” the Washington Post’s Tyler Pager and Michael Scherer reported:
Behind the scenes, Obama has been deeply engaged in conversations about the future of Biden’s campaign, taking calls from many anxious Democrats, including former House speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), and has shared his views about the president’s challenges, according to people with knowledge of the calls, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.
Obama sees his role as a sounding board and counselor to his former vice president, telling allies that he feels protective of Biden. In these conversations, Obama has said he thinks Biden has been a great president and wants to protect his accomplishments, which could be in jeopardy if Republicans control the White House and both chambers of Congress next year.
In some conversations, Obama, who has long looked to data for political insights, has told people he is concerned that the polls are moving away from Biden, that former president Donald Trump’s electoral path is expanding and that donors are abandoning the president.
Obama’s spokesperson declined to comment.
Before Thursday, Obama said the decision for Biden to stay in the race is the president’s.
“Don’t underestimate Joe Biden’s ability to mess things up,” Obama reportedly previously said of Biden’s political acumen.
The report comes as Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), two Democrat power brokers, are working to end Biden’s political career, according to multiple media reports.
Both Pelosi and Schumer are Biden’s longtime allies, but after several devastating media reports on Wednesday, their alliance appears to be breaking apart over fears that the president’s refusal to quit the presidential race will lead to historic losses in down-ballot races. The Democrats’ potential losses could reshape Congress for decades, giving Republicans control of typically blue-leaning Senate and House seats.
Democrats are privately circulating “jarring” polling numbers to apparently convince the Democrat party to break with Biden, the New York Times reported. The numbers, produced by Blue Rose Research, show only 18 percent of voters believe Biden is mentally fit, including 36 percent of voters who cast a ballot for Biden in 2020.
About two-thirds of Democrats want Biden to drop out of the 2024 presidential race, an Associated Press/NORC poll found Wednesday.
Wendell Husebo is a political reporter with Breitbart News and a former RNC War Room Analyst. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality. Follow Wendell on “X” @WendellHusebø or on Truth Social @WendellHusebo.
