WASHINGTON, D.C. (The Thursday Times)—As President Biden battles Covid and feels abandoned by his allies, he is growing increasingly resentful, viewing an orchestrated campaign to push him out of the race. Isolated at his Delaware beach house, he feels betrayed by those he once considered close, particularly his former running mate, Barack Obama, writes The New York Times.
According to the legacy New York paper, Biden, with his extensive political experience, suspects that recent media leaks regarding his health are coordinated efforts to pressure him to step aside. He believes that Representative Nancy Pelosi, the former House Speaker, is the main instigator, but also sees his former boss, President Barack Obama, as a puppet master “pulling strings” behind the scenes.
This internal friction within the Democratic Party so close to an election is unprecedented in D.C. in recent generations. The same Democrats now working to ease Biden out were crucial to his success over the past twelve years. Obama elevated Biden from a presidential also-ran to the vice presidency, setting him up for his 2020 presidential win. Pelosi and Senator Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader, helped push through his significant legislative achievements.
However, several sources close to Biden, speaking anonymously, describe a president who is under the weather, coughing, and isolated from the corridors of power as his presidency faces its most critical moment.
Biden’s frustration has grown as a series of news stories have reported warnings from Schumer, Pelosi, Obama, and Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the House Democratic leader, about a potential devastating defeat for the party in November.
Notably, Biden has observed that Obama has not stepped in to support him in recent days, even as former Obama aides publicly call for Biden to withdraw, seen as a message from Obama’s camp. The perceived influence of Obama adds a Shakespearean layer to the unfolding drama, considering their eight-year partnership in the White House.
While Biden and his team insist publicly that he is staying in the race, privately, those close to him say he is increasingly accepting that he may need to step aside. Discussions about potential dates and venues for an announcement are already underway.
One factor possibly delaying a decision is Biden’s advisors believe he would not want to step aside before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel visits Washington on Wednesday to address Congress, given their strained relations over the Gaza conflict. Biden’s resistance to pressure might cause him to dig in and remain in the race.
Two sources familiar with Biden’s thinking say he had not changed his mind as of Friday afternoon. Biden has expressed frustration with Obama and aides to former President Bill Clinton. He finds it particularly ironic that the architects of significant Democratic losses in the 1994 and 2010 midterms are lecturing him on saving the party, especially after he presided over a better-than-expected midterm in 2022. While Biden is not upset with Clinton himself, he holds a different view of Obama.
Representative Gerald E. Connolly, Democrat of Virginia, who has not publicly called for Biden to step aside, expressed empathy for Biden, acknowledging the difficulty of the barrage of criticism. He believes the situation highlights the harsh realities of politics.
Biden pushed back on Friday with a statement vowing to continue the race. “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,” he said.
The White House and the Biden campaign have denied that he is about to drop out. “Absolutely, the president is in this race,” Jennifer O’Malley Dillon, the campaign chairwoman, said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Friday, one of Biden’s favorite shows and a regular venue for Democrats speaking to other Democrats. “You’ve heard him say that time and time again.”
She acknowledged, though, that the campaign has seen erosion. “I’m not here to say that this hasn’t been a tough several weeks for the campaign,” she said. “There’s no doubt that it has been. And we’ve definitely seen some slippage in support, but it has been a small movement.” She argued that polls show the race was “hardened already” before the debate and so not that many voters have shifted since.
“The American people know that the president is older,” she said. “They see that. They knew that before the debate. Yes, of course, we have a lot of work to do to make sure that we are reassuring the American people that, yes, he’s old, but he can do the job and he can win.”
All of the political machinations were occurring as Biden was fighting off Covid symptoms in isolation in Rehoboth. He was still coughing and hoarse on Friday but improving, according to his doctor. Jill Biden was with him, although staying in a separate room.
Among those with him in Rehoboth this weekend will be his aides Steve Ricchetti and Annie Tomasini. Anthony Bernal, the first lady’s chief of staff, accompanied her. It was unclear if Biden would still return to Washington on Sunday as planned, but he was tentatively scheduled to travel on Wednesday to Austin, Texas, for a postponed celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act at the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library.
Biden’s irritation with Obama represents the latest chapter in their complicated relationship. While not close initially when they teamed up to run in 2008, they became friends during their two terms in the White House, especially bonding when Biden’s son Beau died in 2015.
However, Biden has nursed a grudge since Obama gently discouraged him from running for president in 2016, steering the Democratic nomination to Hillary Clinton, who lost to Trump. So Obama’s advice may not be welcome in Rehoboth at this point, which is perhaps one reason the former president is not offering it directly, according to sources close to him.
Obama last saw Biden at a lavish, record-setting Hollywood fundraiser before the debate in June, where the two appeared onstage together. At the end, Obama appeared to be leading Biden offstage. One former Obama aide present that night said it was clear that the former president was startled and shaken by how much Biden had aged and seemed disoriented.
That fundraiser was the last big haul for the campaign, which had hoped to raise about $50 million this month from large donors for the Biden Victory Fund, just as it did in June. But after the debate, it may collect less than $25 million in July, an excruciatingly modest sum for a summer month in a presidential race, according to four people briefed on the campaign’s finances. The campaign is not required to disclose its July fundraising numbers until mid-August, and a spokeswoman dismissed the reports as “speculation.”
As they try to influence Biden, many associates hold back from harsh public statements out of empathy and fear such statements might backfire, causing Biden to dig in even more. Some are reluctant to have their names attached to statements, worried about his reaction to a pile-on from his friends.
While the roughly 40 members of Congress who have publicly called for Biden to leave the race represent a minority, privately, dozens more agree. Two House Democrats estimated that on a secret ballot, 70 percent to 80 percent of their caucus would prefer Biden to withdraw.
“They’re not going to be able to contain this. I think the dam has broken,” said Connolly. Even before Friday’s announcements, he said, “my sense was that a majority of my colleagues were so uneasy they would welcome a decision to change horses.”
Senator Chris Coons, Democrat of Delaware and one of Biden’s closest allies, made an impassioned defense of his ability to serve a second term. Speaking from the stage of the Aspen Security Conference in Colorado, Coons cited Biden’s work hosting a NATO summit as well as his recent news conference and campaign events. “There are folks still saying he is not strong enough or capable enough to be our next president,” Coons said. “I disagree.”
