Schumer, Pelosi said to intensify pressure on Biden to quit 2024 presidential race

Top House Democrat Jeffries said to express similar views to US president, who is heading to Delaware to self-isolate following COVID diagnosis

US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (L) looks on as President Joe Biden speaks during an event at the White House in Washington, on June 18, 2024. (Drew Angerer/AFP)
US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (L) looks on as President Joe Biden speaks during an event at the White House in Washington, on June 18, 2024. (Drew Angerer/AFP)

Top Democrats including US Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have increased pressure on President Joe Biden to withdraw from his reelection campaign over concerns he cannot defeat Republican challenger Donald Trump, US media reported on Wednesday.

Schumer told Biden in a meeting on Saturday it would be better for the country and the Democratic Party if he ended his reelection campaign, ABC News reported.

US House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries has expressed similar views directly to Biden, ABC News reported, citing a source familiar with the conversation.

CNN reported on Wednesday that Pelosi, too, has told Biden polling shows he cannot defeat Trump and that the president could destroy the Democrats’ chances of winning back control of the House of Representatives.

Pelosi spoke to Biden in a recent telephone call, CNN reported, citing four sources briefed on the call. None of the sources indicated Pelosi directly told Biden he should leave the race, CNN said.

Biden responded by telling Pelosi he has seen polling indicating he can win, according to one CNN source.

A Pelosi spokesperson told CNN that Pelosi has not spoken to Biden since Friday.

US President Joe Biden speaks with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at the White House Congressional Picnic on the South Lawn of the White House, July 12, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Earlier on Wednesday, Democratic US Representative Adam Schiff of California became the 20th congressional Democrat to publicly call for Biden to drop out of the race.

Schumer’s office responded to the report about his meeting with the president with a statement calling it “idle speculation” and said Schumer “conveyed the views of his caucus directly to President Biden on Saturday.”

Jeffries’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.

Democrats have been worried about the 81-year-old incumbent’s ability to beat Republican challenger Trump and serve another four years in office after Biden’s halting June 27 debate performance.

“The president told both leaders he is the nominee of the party, he plans to win, and looks forward to working with both of them to pass his 100 days agenda to help working families,” White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said in a statement.

US Rep. Adam Schiff of California during a hearing at the Capitol in Washington, on June 21, 2022. (AP/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

The reports came as Biden tested positive for COVID-19 with mild symptoms Wednesday, shortly after conceding he would consider dropping his reelection bid if doctors diagnosed him with a serious medical condition.

The 81-year-old Democrat gave reporters the thumbs up and said “I feel good” as he cut short a campaign trip to Las Vegas and flew to his beach home in Delaware to go into isolation.

Biden thanked well-wishers on X, adding that “I will be isolating as I recover, and during this time I will continue to work to get the job done for the American people.”

But the infection comes at a critical moment for Biden’s campaign, after a disastrous debate performance against rival Donald Trump sparked concerns about his health and calls from some Democrats for him to step aside

It is also the latest development in a tumultuous few days in an already frenetic White House race that saw his Republican Trump survive an assassination attempt at a campaign rally of his own.

Biden was forced to cancel a speech to a union representing Latino workers who will be crucial for his election bid, having attended a campaign event earlier in the day and given a radio interview.

His spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden was vaccinated and boosted, was now taking the COVID medication Paxlovid and “continues to carry out the full duties of the office while in isolation.”

US President Joe Biden boards Air Force One as he departs Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada, on July 17, 2024, en route to Delaware. (Kent Nishimura/AFP)

White House doctor Kevin O’Connor said Biden had complained of suffering from a runny nose, a cough and “general malaise,” and after attending the campaign event he tested positive.

“His symptoms remain mild,” O’Connor said, adding that Biden’s respiratory rate, temperature and blood oxygen levels all remained normal.

Biden was seen walking from his limousine to his plane at Las Vegas without a mask. “Good,” he said when asked how he felt, “I feel good.”

Janet Murguia, the president of the Unidos union for Latino workers, told the crowd about the diagnosis shortly before the White House announcement.

“I was just on the phone with President Biden, and he shared his deep disappointment at not being able to join us this afternoon,” she said.

‘I’m sick’

People waiting for the speech said Biden’s health did not worry them despite the COVID diagnosis.

“I think he’s strong and he’s going to recover soon,” Anne Vilagut told AFP.

But Biden’s illness comes as concerns over the fitness of the oldest US president in US history reach fever pitch.

Asked what could make him rethink his presidential bid, Biden told the Black media outlet BET in an interview taped Tuesday in Las Vegas: “If I had some medical condition that emerged, if somebody, if the doctors came and said ‘you’ve got this problem, that problem.'”

Biden has so far refused to drop out, and blamed his debate debacle, when he appeared tired and confused, on a bad cold and jet lag.

Biden’s campaign meanwhile made a tongue-in-cheek fundraising opportunity out of the president’s illness — first saying on X “I’m sick” and then following up with the reply “of Elon Musk and his rich buddies trying to buy this election.”

Musk said Saturday he was backing Trump after the assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania.

Biden insists that Democratic voters support him, but a poll by the Associated Press and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research said Wednesday that nearly two-thirds want him to step aside.

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