WASHINGTON: Former US President Barack Obama has now joined a bandwagon of those who have voiced their concerns about Joe Biden’s campaign to return as the American President.
Obama told allies that in recent days, US President Biden’s path to victory has greatly diminished, and he thinks the leader needs to seriously consider the viability of his candidacy, the Washington Post reported on Thursday.
The report also quotes sources who said that Obama has mentioned in some of his conversations that he is concerned that the polls are moving away from Biden, expanding a wider path of victory for Republican candidate Donald Trump in the November 5 election.
This follows a string of Democratic Party leaders estimated to be around 20 calling for Biden, 81, to quit his campaign. CNN reported that former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told Biden in a private conversation that she was pessimistic about his chances of defeating Trump.
White House spokesperson Andrew Bates was cited in the same CNN report as saying that “President Biden is the nominee of the party. He plans to win and looks forward to working with congressional Democrats to pass his 100-day agenda to help working families.”
Earlier this week, senior House Democrat Adam Schiff of California, who is running for Senate, said that Biden should end his campaign. Schiff said in a statement to the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday that he has “serious concerns” about whether Biden can defeat Republican challenger Trump, the New York Times reported.
Previously, as per the NYT, Schiff in a private meeting with donors, said that if Biden remained the party’s nominee, Democrats were likely to lose not only the White House but also down-ballot races. His public statement on Wednesday followed the assassination attempt on Trump.
Schiff, however, said that he would support the Democratic ticket, even if Biden stayed at the top, but said he believed it would be better for Biden to “pass the torch.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Majority Leader Charles E Schumer have both spoken directly with Biden in the past week, warning about the widely held concerns that his candidacy could hurt the chances for the Democratic Party.
Actor George Clooney wrote an op-ed in the New York Times that called on Biden to drop out of the presidential race.
Meanwhile, Biden announced that he had tested positive for Covid-19 on Wednesday and is quarantining in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Biden’s principal deputy campaign manager, Quentin Fulks, was cited by the Washington Post on Thursday morning as saying that Biden’s campaign was moving ahead.
“The President has made his decision. I don’t want to be rude, but I don’t know how many more times we can answer that”, he said. (ANI)