Biden insists on staying in race as party veterans game out other 'options'

President Joe Biden has got a bit of relief from Hillary and Bill Clinton as the former president and secretary of state have expressed support for him.

The former first couple are sticking with their sequestered fellow Democrat both publicly and privately. They said Biden who is in isolation for contracting Covid-19, is isolated in his own party as some party veterans are expressing their views privately that he should step down from his candidature.

“I’m sure he’s mad and upset all at the same time,” said Meghan Hays, who served in the Biden White House until 2022. She also praised Biden, saying he understands the reality of politics and is “notorious for not holding grudges.”

However, contingency plans are being gamed out in different circles of Democrats, with some suggesting Vice President Kamala Harris seamlessly replace Biden at the top of the ticket and some others proposing to prepare for an open nominating convention next month in Chicago, which would be the first in decades.

“Joe Biden is our nominee,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said, while speaking to MSNBC on Saturday. “But what gives me a lot of hope right now is that if President Biden decides to step back, we have Vice President Kamala Harris, who is ready to step up to unite the party, to take on Donald Trump and to win in November.”

“Remember, 80 million people voted for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in 2020 knowing that Kamala Harris would be ready to step up if needed," added Warren, a progressive who ran against both Biden and Harris for the Democratic nomination in 2020.

Biden's loyalists, the circle of whom is shrinking, pledge to stick to him. “We need to unite as a coalition like we did in 2020,” said Kevin Munoz, Biden campaign spokesperson, while speaking to MSNBC on Saturday. He contended that Democrats should focus on the “terrifying” possibility of another Donald Trump presidency.