The New York Times reports that President Joe Biden told an ally that he is weighing whether to continue in the Presidential race. This is the first concrete sign that he's considering the exit.
"President Biden has told a key ally that he knows he may not be able to salvage his candidacy if he cannot convince the public in the coming days that he is up for the job after a disastrous debate performance last week," the report said.
I think that even talk of this hurts his chances.
“He knows if he has two more events like that, we’re in a different place” by the end of the weekend, said the ally quoted in the article. Biden is set for an ABC interview on Friday with upcoming campaign stops in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
He has a meeting with Democratic Governors this evening.
Several allies of Mr. Biden, who has huddled with the family and advisers since the debate on Thursday, have underscored that the president is still in the fight of his political life and largely sees this moment as a chance to come back from being counted out, as he has done many times throughout his half-century career.
But he is also cleareyed, they said, about his uphill battle to convince voters, donors and the political class that his debate performance was an anomaly.
What happens in markets and politics if Biden drops out
Update: The odds shifted from 50/50 to strongly for Harris on this report.
Update: The campaign is denying the report, which is no surprise. You deny it until you're sure you want to leave because the reports alone are damaging and validate the mental-acuity questions.
