Barack Obama has reportedly told allies that Joe Biden should reconsider whether to remain in the race for the White House, as the US president remained holed up at his beach house on Thursday due to a bout of Covid.
The former president said Biden, 81, who was his vice president for eight years, should “seriously consider the viability of his candidacy,” he said. Washington Post reported.
Biden's candidacy is on a knife-edge with a growing list of senior Democrats calling for him to step aside, while concerns about his age and health are raising fears he is on track to lose badly to Donald Trump in November.
As rival Trump prepares for his headlining performance at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee later Thursday, Biden finds himself in both personal and political isolation.
His personal physician, Kevin O'Connor, said Thursday that Biden was still experiencing mild Covid symptoms and was taking the drug Paxlovid, but that his vital signs remained normal.
“He will continue to lead the affairs of the American people,” O'Connor said in a letter released by the White House.
His Covid diagnosis came at the worst possible time for his campaign, forcing him to cut short a trip to Las Vegas and isolate himself at his vacation home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
Biden told reporters Wednesday he was “doing fine,” but then appeared frail as he slowly descended the stairs of Air Force One.
Calls for Biden to step aside have grown since his disastrous debate performance against Republican Trump three weeks ago, in which he appeared tired and confused.
A series of US media reports have suggested that time is running out in their bid to stop Trump from making a sensational return to the White House.
Top congressional Democrats Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries have reportedly met with Biden in recent days to warn that his candidacy threatens their party's prospects in the November election.
'Near the end'
Influential former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi added to her troubles by privately telling Biden he can't win and could hurt Democrats' chances of taking back the House, CNN and the New York Times reported.
News outlet Axios quoted party figures as saying Biden could drop out as early as this weekend, while broadcaster NBC quoted a person close to Biden as saying: “We're close to the end.”
However, the Biden campaign insisted that he would remain in the race.
“Our campaign is not considering any scenario where President Biden is not first on the ticket,” campaign vice chairman Quentin Fulks said at a news conference on the sidelines of the Republican convention in Milwaukee.
Meanwhile, White House Homeland Security spokesman John Kirby said Biden was being “kept up to date” by his team despite political turmoil and his illness.
The split screen with Donald Trump, however, could not be starker, with Trump set to formally accept the Republican nomination in Milwaukee as Biden prepares.
Former President Trump, who at 78 is just three years younger than Biden, is riding a wave of support from his party after surviving an assassination attempt on Saturday that left him with a bandaged ear.
The United States may now be approaching the climax of an extraordinary period of political drama.
Any move to replace Biden on the ticket, with Vice President Kamala Harris leading the field, would likely come before the Democratic National Convention that begins in Chicago on Aug. 19.
Biden has said she “could be president” but would not step down unless specific polling data or a medical condition convinced him she could not beat Trump in November.
