Joe Biden is holed up in his Rehoboth Beach home with his wife, Jill, as his campaign prepares to return to the road next week. Meanwhile, another Democrat is calling on him to drop out of the presidential race.
No other members of the Biden family are with the president and first lady. Jill was already at their $3.4 million beach house when the president arrived Wednesday night, the East Wing said.
President Biden has been resting after his COVID diagnosis, but he’s preparing to get back to work. And while he said he’s staying in the race, he’s doing “soul-searching.”
“His soul searching is definitely going on, I’m sure,” a source told Reuters. “He’s thinking about this very seriously.”
The reconsideration comes as more Democrats are urging him to reconsider his candidacy for a second term.
President Joe Biden is holed up at his beach house in Rehoboth, Delaware, with his wife Jill Biden — the couple is seen above on the beach in August 2023
Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin, who led the investigation into the Jan. 6 insurrection, is the latest to express doubts about Biden, joining other party leaders who have expressed doubts about Biden’s ability to defeat Donald Trump in November.
The White House has repeatedly denied that Biden is dropping out of the race. Officials are continuing to plan his next round of rallies and events.
Next week, Biden is expected to meet with Benjamin Netanyahu, when the Israeli prime minister is in town to address a joint session of Congress.
That meeting was originally scheduled for Monday, but the White House said the date could vary depending on Biden’s recovery from COVID.
Netanyahu will speak to lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.
“We expect the two leaders to see each other when Prime Minister Netanyahu is in town,” White House spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Thursday.
“I can’t tell you right now … what that’s going to look like exactly. But as we get closer, we’ll definitely be able to tell you more,” Kirby said.
Biden will also be raising money for his campaign later in the week, reaching out to wealthy donors in Texas and California to advocate for his candidacy.
Meanwhile, the president continues to experience “mild respiratory symptoms” but no fever as he battles COVID, the White House said Thursday.
The president continues to take Paxlovid, his physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, said in a letter released by the White House press office.
“The President continues to have mild upper respiratory symptoms related to his recent COVID-19 infection. He continues to receive Paxlovid,” O’Connor wrote.
“He has no fever and his vital signs are normal.”
President Joe Biden disembarks from Air Force One on Wednesday evening after returning from Las Vegas, where he was diagnosed with COVID-19.
As Biden goes into isolation to protect his health, more and more Democrats are expressing doubts about him.
The tide could turn. A senior Democratic Hill aide told DailyMail.com that the chances of Biden pulling the plug are “high,” but the timing is “irregular.”
This comes after it was revealed that Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin wrote a letter to Biden asking him to reconsider his re-election bid.
In a four-page letter dated July 6 and obtained by The New York Times, Raskin begins with an effusive eulogy for the president, his record and his legacy.
But then he changes his mind and compares Biden to an exhausted pitcher about to give his opponents the winning run in a big game.
Raskin used the example of Boston Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martínez, the pitcher who remained on the mound despite fatigue in the eighth inning of Game Seven of the 2003 American League Championship Series.
Martínez allowed three runs to tie the score before the Yankees won on a walk-off home run in the 11th inning, denying the Red Sox a trip to the World Series.
“There is no shame in taking a well-earned bow to the crowd’s overwhelming appreciation when your arm is tired, and there is real danger to the team in ignoring the statistics,” Raskin wrote.
“Your situation is difficult because you are both our star pitcher and our manager. But in democracy, as you have shown us more than any other president, you are not a manager acting alone; you are the co-manager with our great team and our great people. Participate in the caucus with the team, Mr. President. Listen to them. You will make the right decision.”
Raskin’s letter was the latest in a series of revelations from leading Democrats, leading to speculation that Biden could drop out of the race within days.
Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin has asked President Biden to reconsider staying in the race
Former President Barack Obama (left) has told allies of President Joe Biden (right) that he believes the president’s path to victory has narrowed significantly.
Former President Barack Obama has told allies that Biden should seriously consider his candidacy, Washington Post reported Thursday.
Obama reportedly believes Biden’s path to victory has been significantly shortened, but believes the president himself should make the decision to resign.
In the meantime, Axios reported that Democratic sources believe the calls to drop out of the race will pressure Biden to make the decision to step aside, which could happen as early as this weekend.
A proud Biden has publicly maintained that he will be the Democratic nominee and that only God or a “medical condition” would force him to step down. So far, he has been supported in his decision to stay put by family members, first lady Jill Biden and son Hunter.
But he is beginning to realize that this may not be sustainable. Polls show he will lose to Trump, and surveys show widespread concerns about his age and health, which he is unlikely to overcome.
This week, conversations he had with top Democrats in Congress have come to light. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries are said to have told Biden some hard truths.
They warned the president that he would lose the White House and that he could take the majorities in Congress with him.
A total of 20 Democrats have called on Biden to withdraw from the race.
Others, however, remain loyal to the president and are visibly angry about the leaks, claiming they are damaging to the party as a whole.
“I can’t tell you how embarrassing it is to hear all these leaks about what Democratic leaders are going to stay and not one of them will confirm or deny it. It’s a lack of leadership and it makes all Democrats look bad,” Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar wrote on X.
“Whatever this mess does, it will not undo the damage that has already been done. May God help us all.”
