Democratic leaders seem ready to dump Biden
Top congressional Democrats have reportedly urged Biden to drop out. It's a sign that the anti-Biden push may soon go public.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
- Top Democrats have reportedly told Biden he could drag down the party's prospects if he stays.
- It appears to be the beginning of a more public campaign to push Biden to withdraw.
- Democrats had already tried doing this gently. Now, they appear to be getting impatient.
As several news outlets reported on Wednesday evening, top Democrats have directly told President Joe Biden that he will drag the rest of the party down with him if he does not withdraw from the race.
That includes Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and even former Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
None of them have gone public with their appeals just yet. But their offices aren't denying the reporting either.
On Wednesday night, after ABC reported that Schumer told Biden it would be best for the country if he stepped aside, a spokesperson for the Democrat from New York called that reporting "idle speculation."
"Leader Schumer conveyed the views of his caucus directly to President Biden on Saturday," the spokesperson said.
What those views were was left unsaid. But there's plenty of reason to believe that congressional Democrats have arrived at the same conclusion shared by 65% of Democratic voters — that Biden must withdraw from the race.
Up to now, the public conversation about Biden's future has been somewhat circuitous, with congressional Democrats saying they believe Biden will make the "right decision" about his political future.
Of course, Biden keeps insisting that he has made his decision, and that he will remain the Democratic Party's presidential nominee.
Schumer met with Biden on Saturday and Jeffries met with the president on Friday. That the contents of these meetings are being leaked into public view now suggests a growing frustration from congressional Democrats with Biden's obstinance.
While just 20 congressional Democrats have publicly called for Biden to step aside, many more have remained quiet, seemingly hoping that Biden will choose to withdraw without the potentially ugly spectacle of an intraparty struggle over his future.
If Wednesday night's leaks were any indication, that effort may soon have to go public.