The News
The pressure on Joe Biden to step aside as the Democratic nominee has ramped up, with former president Barack Obama and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi both privately saying he should reconsider.
Pelosi recently warned the incumbent president that he can’t defeat Donald Trump this November — and that his refusal to step aside could ruin Democrats’ chances of taking back the House, CNN reported. And Obama recently told allies that Biden’s path to victory has greatly diminished and the president needs to seriously consider whether he’s still a viable candidate, The Washington Post reported. Obama has been clear that the decision is Biden’s to make.
Four sources briefed on the recent Biden-Pelosi call confirmed it to CNN; one said the president pushed back on the assessment, and another said he got defensive. News of the call came as California Rep. Adam Schiff — a close ally of Pelosi — urged Biden to bow out of the race. Schiff’s statement stirred speculation that Pelosi is pulling the strings. “The speaker does not want to call on him to resign, but she will do everything in her power to make sure it happens,” one Pelosi ally told Politico.