President Joe Biden seems to be determined to keep running for re-election despite more than two dozen congressional Democrats urging him to drop out of the race.
In a statement on Friday, Biden said, “I look forward to getting back on the campaign trail next week to continue exposing the threat of Donald Trump’s Project 2025 agenda while making the case for my own record and the vision that I have for America: one where we save our democracy, protect our rights and freedoms, and create opportunity for everyone.”
“The stakes are high, and the choice is clear. Together, we will win,” he added.
The statement comes as Biden is isolating after testing positive for COVID-19.
On Thursday, Axios’ Jim Vandehei and Mike Allen wrote, “Several top Democrats privately tell us the rising pressure of party congressional leaders and close friends will persuade President Biden to decide to drop out of the presidential race, as soon as this weekend.”
“The 81-year-old president, now self-isolating with COVID, remains publicly dug in. But privately he’s resigned to mounting pressure, bad polls, and untenable scrutiny making it impossible to continue his campaign, the Democrats tell us,” they added.
The article explained the message from “leaders of his party, his friends and key donors” is that they “believe he can’t win, can’t change public perceptions of his age and acuity, and can’t deliver congressional majorities.”
Additionally, the president is being warned that staying in the race could lead to former President Donald Trump winning in November in a landslide and erasing his legacy as he lifts down-ballot Republicans to victory as well.
“Democrats fully expect polls after the Republican National Convention to show a possible blowout that could bring down Democrats in Congress, too,” Vandehei and Allen explained.
One of Biden’s friends told Axios, “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.”
“I pray that he does the right thing. He’s headed that way,” he added.
The report comes after an Associated Press/AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll released on Wednesday, nearly two-thirds of Democrats want Biden to end his re-election bid.
Meanwhile, CNN reported former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif) “privately told [Biden] in a recent conversation that polling shows that the president cannot defeat Donald Trump and that Biden could destroy Democrats’ chances of winning the House in November if he continues seeking a second term, according to four sources briefed on the call.”
Also on Wednesday, ABC News reported Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) met with Biden and made “the case it would be best if Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race.”
As of Friday afternoon, at least 30 Congressional Democrats have called for Biden to end his re-election bid.
