Top Democrats Schumer, Pelosi ask Biden to quit re-election bid
According to CNN, Biden responded by telling Pelosi he has seen polling indicating he can win
July 18, 2024
WASHINGTON: Influential Democrats including US Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have piled pressure on President Joe Biden to withdraw from his re-election campaign.
Schumer told Biden in a meeting it would be better for the country and the Democratic Party if he ended his re-election campaign, US media reported Wednesday.
US House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries has expressed similar views directly to Biden, ABC News said, 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 told Biden he should leave the race, CNN said.
According to one CNN source, Biden responded by telling Pelosi he has seen polling indicating he can win.
A Pelosi spokesperson told CNN that Pelosi has not spoken to Biden since Friday.
Earlier on Wednesday, Democratic US Representative Adam Schiff 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.
Biden has repeatedly rejected calls from Democrats to drop out of the race after his halting performance in a debate last month against Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
"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.
