Last Update July 18, 2024 02:35pm ET

Democrats call for Biden to step aside as nominee after debate disaster, COVID diagnosis

President Biden has so far rejected calls for him to step aside and allow Democrats to select a different nominee ahead of their national convention in Chicago next month. The president’s disastrous debate performance sparked serious concerns within his own party about Biden’s viability to run against Republican former President Trump in November.

Covered by: Danielle Wallace, Paul Steinhauser and Louis Casiano

FAST FACTS:

•  The White House said President Biden tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday, prompting him to cancel a two-day swing through the battleground state of Nevada. 
•  In a pre-taped interview that aired on Wednesday night, Biden told BET News host Ed Gordan that he’d reconsider staying in the race, “If I had some medical condition that emerged, if somebody, if doctors came to me and said, you got this problem and that problem.” 
•  Biden’s disastrous June 27 debate performance against former President Trump in Atlanta has prompted a growing number of Democrats to insist the president step aside and allow for a different nominee. 

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1 hour(s) ago

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Obama believes Biden needs to reconsider candidacy: report

Former President Barack Obama is reportedly concerned about President Biden’s re-election bid viability.

Former President Barack Obama told his allies in recent days that he believes President Biden needs to reconsider his candidacy, The Washington Postreported Thursday, citing multiple people briefed on his thinking.

A source familiar with Obama’s thinking, asked about the new Washington Post report, tells Fox News that the former president “continues to see his primary role as a sounding board and counselor for President Biden, as they have long done for each other for many years now. He believes Joe Biden has been an outstanding President and is protective of him both personally and of the Biden administration’s strong and historic accomplishments.”

Obama reportedly has spoken with Biden only once since his disastrous debate performance last month. According to the Post, Obama has expressed serious concern to his allies, however, about the viability of Biden’s candidacy and remains focused on preserving Biden’s legacy.

In his discussions with others, Obama reportedly has emphasized that Biden alone can make the decision to step away from the race. Obama has also pushed back against the idea that he alone can influence Biden, his former vice president, to withdraw from his presidential re-election bid.

Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

Posted by Danielle Wallace Share

13 min(s) ago

Person close to Biden: ‘We’re close to the end’: report

Some of President Biden’s most fervent internal supporters now believe that the writing is on the wall as major donations has subsided and top allies have called on the Democratic incumbent to step aside, NBC News reported, citing five people with knowledge of the situation.

“We’re close to the end,” a person close to Biden reportedly said, according to NBC.

That person reportedly acknowledged that it’s still Biden’s decision whether or not to drop out.

Posted by Danielle Wallace Share

23 min(s) ago

Pelosi spox refutes report she told Biden polls show he can’t beat Trump, will take down House

A spokesperson for Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., condemned the press “feeding frenzy” in response to a report that the former House Speaker told President Biden that polls show he cannot defeat former President Trump and will take down the House.

“Speaker Pelosi respects the confidentiality of her meetings & conversations with the President of the United States. Sadly, the feeding frenzy from the press based on anonymous sources misrepresents any conversations the Speaker may have had with the President,” a Pelosi spokesperson told Fox News Digital in a statement.

It came in response to a report by CNN, citing four unnamed sources, that claimed Pelosi told Biden in a phone call that polls are showing he cannot win against Trump in November and that him staying in the race could destroy Democrats’ chances of taking the House.

The phone call marked the second time Pelosi and Biden spoke since the president’s disastrous debate performance against former President Trump on June 27, according to a CNN report Thursday citing four sources briefed on the call. The sources also told CNN that the former speaker did not tell Biden to drop out of the race. 

Fox News’ Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.

Posted by Danielle Wallace Share

42 min(s) ago

Biden still experiencing ‘mild’ COVID symptoms in isolation: doctor

Dr. Kevin O’Connor, the physician to the President of the United States, said in letter Thursday that President Biden is still experiencing mild upper respiratory symptoms associated with his recent COVID-19 infection.

Biden does not have a fever and his vital signs remain normal, O’Conner wrote. The president will continue to conduct the business of the American people.

With the president’s permission, O’Connor said he will continue to provide regular updates.

Fox News’ Pat Ward contributed to this report.

Posted by Danielle Wallace Share

59 min(s) ago

Biden campaign pushes back on report that top Democrats expect president out as soon as this weekend

A Biden campaign official took to X on Thursday pushing back against an Axios report citing unnamed top Democrats who believe the president could drop out as soon as this weekend.

“Joe Biden is his party’s nominee. He’s the President of the United States. He’s running for reelection,” TJ Ducklo, a senior adviser for the Biden campaign, wrote on X. “Baseless conjecture from anonymous sources isn’t a scoop. Tonight a convicted felon will talk about how he’ll make people’s lives worse if he gains power. Let’s focus.”

Though Biden has publicly insisted he would not drop out, several top Democrats told Axios they believe the president has privately conceded to poll numbers and growing pressure from party congressional leaders, close friends and key donors insisting that he can’t win in November.

Former President Donald Trump is expected to deliver a highly anticipated speech on the fourth and final day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Thursday night.

Posted by Danielle Wallace Share

1 hour(s) ago

Biden campaign adviser delivers frank warning to president about dwindling donations: reports

A well-connected adviser and fundraising coordinator for President Biden’s campaign is reportedly warning that donations are at risk of drying up, according to reports. 

Film producer and Democratic insider Jeffrey Katzenberg reportedly spoke with Biden in a private meeting in Las Vegas, on Wednesday. 

During the meeting, Katzenberg allegedly told the president that major donors were likely to cut funding due to concerns about the campaign’s viability, according to Semafor and Deadline.

Following the report, Katzenberg released a statement saying the characterization was inaccurate and that the two had “talked about everything from the convention to new ads.” “And by the way, we will raise the money we need to run a winning campaign,” he added.

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News Digital’s Timothy Nerozzi.

Posted by Danielle Wallace Share

1 hour(s) ago

Biden allies retaliated against Democrat who said president should stop re-election bid: report

Rep. Hillary Scholten, D-Mich., reportedly called for President Biden to step aside.

President Biden’s allies reportedly retaliated against Rep. Hillary Scholten, a first term Democrat from Michigan, after she called for him to step away from his re-election bid.

Scholten, who flipped a traditionally red seat in 2022, was removed from a coordinated effort between the Biden campaign and the state Democratic party to elect candidates up and down the ticket last week, Politico reported, citing four people with knowledge of the situation.

The congresswoman was kicked out shortly after she called for Biden to drop out. The decision to exclude Scholten came from the state Democratic party, two sources told Politico.

Politico reached out to the Biden campaign on Wednesday for comment.

Scholten was reportedly welcomed back to the combined field effort involves the presidential, Senate and House races on Thursday morning.

If she was kept off, Democratic organizers campaigning in her district would have mentioned Biden and the party’s Senate nominee, but not Scholten, Politico reported.

“Rep. Scholten is welcome at the coordinated campaign and we look forward to campaigning with her this fall,” Mia Ehrenberg, a spokesperson for the Biden campaign, told Politico.

Posted by Danielle Wallace Share

2 hour(s) ago

MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough urges Biden’s inner circle to ‘step up,’ help president ‘do the right thing’

MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough blasted President Biden’s inner circle on Thursday, urging those close to the 81-year-old president to “step up” and help him “do the right thing.”

Biden is facing growing calls from Democrats to drop out of the race.

“This is not going to end well if it continues to drag out,” Scarborough said on his “Morning Joe” talk show. “It’s really incumbent on people that are around Joe Biden to step up at this point and help the president and help the man they love and do the right thing.”

“The anger I hear are at the people that are keeping him in a bubble or who may have their own interests, some financial, in keeping him in the race. That is the real anger,” Scarborough continued. “It is widespread. Joe Biden deserves better. He deserves better than he is getting from those closest to him.”

Scarborough noted his wife and co-host Mika Brzezinksi’s relationship with the Biden family.

“We have known him for a long time,” Scarborough said. “Mika and her family, extraordinarily close to the Bidens.”

The left-leaning program “Morning Joe” was reportedly pulled from the air on Monday following the assassination attempt on former President Trump.

Posted by Danielle Wallace Share

3 hour(s) ago

Top Democrats believe Biden will bow out as soon as this weekend: report

Several top Democrats told Axios on Thursday they now believe President Biden will discontinue his re-election campaign. The decision reportedly could come as soon as this weekend.

Though Biden has publicly insisted he would not drop out, the Democratic lawmakers told Axios they believe the president has privately conceded to poll numbers and growing pressure from party congressional leaders, close friends and key donors insisting that he can’t win in November.

Biden is self-isolating in Delaware after testing positive for COVID-19 Wednesday, the White House said. The Democrats who spoke to Axios say they expect blowout poll numbers after the Republican National Convention concludes in Milwaukee that could spell disaster for Democrats in Congress this November.

“His choice is to be one of history’s heroes, or to be sure of the fact that there’ll never be a Biden presidential library,” one of the president’s close friends reportedly told Axios. “I pray that he does the right thing. He’s headed that way.”

Posted by Danielle Wallace Share

3 hour(s) ago

Biden campaign insists president ‘staying in this race’ despite reports he’s wavering

MILWAUKEE – President Biden’s re-election campaign is pushing back against a slew of reports in the past 24 hours that the president has become more receptive in the last couple of days to hearing arguments about why he should drop his 2024 re-election run.

“Our campaign is not working through any scenarios where President Biden is not at the top of the ticket. He is and will be the Democratic nominee, Biden principal deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks told reporters at a news conference Thursday morning near the site of the Republican National Convention.

Fulks emphasized that “the president has said it several times. He’s staying in this race” and “we look forward to him accepting the delegates in Chicago and continuing with this race to talk about what’s at stake.”

Following his disastrous debate performance last month in his face-to-face showdown with former President Donald Trump, the 2024 GOP presidential nominee, the 81-year-old Biden has been facing questions about whether he has the physical and mental capabilities to serve another four years in the most demanding job in the world. And politically, Biden’s been pushing back against a rising chorus of calls to end his campaign from elected Democrats, who are deeply concerned about the possibility of the party not only losing the White House but both houses of Congress in the autumn election.

Asked a second time at the news conference if Biden may consider stepping aside, Fulks responded that the president “is not wavering on anything. The president has made his decision. I don’t to be rude, but I do not know how many more times we can answer that. Joe Biden has said he is running for President of the United States. Our campaign is moving forward.”

Posted by Paul Steinhauser Share

4 hour(s) ago

Biden ‘working towards’ decision on 2024 race, senator says

Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., arrives for a private meeting between Senate Democrats and President Joe Biden’s senior advisors Mike Donlion, Steve Richetti and campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon on July 11, 2024 in Washington, DC.

Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., told Reuters that President Biden is “working towards” a decision on whether he’ll continue his re-election bid that is “good for the country.”

“Joe Biden has always put the country first. He’s done what’s best for America…I think he’ll keep doing so,” Hickenlooper told Reuters in a phone interview late Wednesday. “He’s working towards that.”

The senator, a former Democratic presidential candidate in 2020 before Biden won the nomination, stopped short of joining the growing list of members of his party explicitly calling on Biden to step aside. Reuters asked Hickenlooper about Biden potentially stopping his re-election campaign.

“That’s his decision to make, but certainly there’s more and more indications that that would be in the best interests of the country, I think,” Hickenlooper responded.

Posted by Danielle Wallace Share

4 hour(s) ago

Pelosi had second phone call with Biden insisting polls show he cannot win against Trump: report

Rep. Nancy Pelosi , D-Calif., the former Speaker of the House, had a second phone conversation with President Biden to insist that polling shows he cannot win against former President Trump, CNN reported, citing four sources briefed on the call. Pelosi reportedly told Biden that he could ruin Democrats’ prospects of winning the House in November if he stays in the race.

One source reportedly described Biden’s response as defensive. Another source said the president told Pelosi that he’s seen polling data that shows he can defeat Trump. Biden reportedly at one point asked his longtime adviser, Mike Donilon, to join the call to discuss the data. The call reportedly happened within the past week.

It’s the second known phone conversation between the president and Pelosi since Biden’s stalling and stumbling debate performance against Trump in Atlanta last month.

Posted by Danielle Wallace Share

5 hour(s) ago

Schumer ‘forcefully’ told Biden he should drop his re-election bid: report

Top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer reportedly told President Biden in a “blunt one-on-one conversation” Saturday it would be best if he “bowed out of the race,” according to an ABC report on X.

“Chuck Schumer had a blunt one-on-one conversation with Biden Saturday afternoon in Rehoboth. Schumer forcefully made the case that it would be best if Biden bowed out of the race,”  ABC News chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl wrote. “Schumer’s office wouldn’t comment on the specifics of the conversation, telling me only, ‘Leader Schumer conveyed the views of his caucus.’”

The Senate majority leader’s office issued a similar response obtained by Fox News Digital on Wednesday, but waved off ABC’s report.

“Unless ABC’s source is Senator Chuck Schumer or President Joe Biden the reporting is idle speculation,” a spokesperson for Sen. Schumer said. “Leader Schumer conveyed the views of his caucus directly to President Biden on Saturday.”

The news comes as the New York Democrat pushed for the Democratic National Convention’s delay as questions persist about President Biden’s 2024 candidacy due to concerns over his mental acuity, according to multiple sources.

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News Digital’s Jamie Joseph.

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5 hour(s) ago

DNC delegates actively discussing Biden stepping down in leaked private chats: reports

California delegates for the Democratic Party are reportedly in disarray as debate over the president’s chances of re-election threatens to tear the party apart.

Private group chats across multiple social media platforms have been set up to facilitate discussion among the delegates, who almost universally worry that a second Biden term is an impossible sell to voters, according to Politico.

A cache of messages was reportedly leaked to the outlet — only the latest in a deluge of leaks from inside the Biden administration and the wider Democratic Party.

“Obviously, the first step would be that President Biden steps down of his own accord and frees his delegates,” DNC delegate Susan Bolle posted in a Facebook group discussing the issue. “We should discuss this. This is a painful experience on every level, but we play an outsized role in history this election. This cannot be left to chance.”