Joe Biden is holed up at his Rehoboth Beach home with wife Jill, as his campaign prepares for him to return to the road next week even as yet another Democrat calls on him to exit 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 home when the president arrived there Wednesday night, the East Wing said.
President Biden has been resting after his COVID diagnosis but he is preparing to get back to work. And while he said he is staying in the race, he is ‘soul searching.
‘His soul searching is actually happening, I know that for a fact,’ a source told Reuters. ‘He’s thinking about this very seriously.’
The second thoughts come as more and more Democrats urge him to rethink his bid for a second term.
President Joe Biden is holed up in his Rehoboth, Delaware, beach house with wife Jill Biden – above the couple is seen on the beach in August 2023
Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin, who led the investigation into the January 6th insurrection, is the latest to express his doubts about Biden, joining other party leaders who’ve expressed their doubts about Biden’s ability to beat Donald Trump in November.
The White House has repeatedly denied Biden is leaving the race. Officials are moving ahead to plan his next round of meetings 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.
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BREAKING NEWS
Obama tells Biden allies president needs to seriously consider whether he should stay in the race
That meeting was originally scheduled for Monday but the White House said the date could be in flux depending on Biden’s recovery from COVID.
Netanyahu speaks to lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.
‘We have every expectation that the two leaders will have a chance to see each other when Prime Minister Netanyahu is in town,’ White House spokesman John Kirby told reporters Thursday.
‘I can’t tell you at this point … what that exactly is going to look like. But as we get closer certainly be able to provide you some more,’ Kirby said.
Biden is also scheduled to go on a fundraising swing for his campaign in the later part of the week, hitting up rich donors in Texas and California as he makes the case for his candidacy.
Meanwhile, the president still has ‘mild upper respiratory symptoms’ but no fever as he battles COVID, the White House said on Thursday.
The president is continuing to take Paxlovid, his physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, said in a letter released by the White House press office.
‘The president is still experiencing mild upper respiratory symptoms associated with his recent COVID-19 infection. He continues to receive Paxlovid,’ O’Connor wrote.
‘He does not have a fever and his vital signs remain normal.’
President Joe Biden exits Air Force One on Wednesday night as he returned from Las Vegas, where he was diagnosed with COVID
As Biden isolates to protect his health, more and more Democrats are expressing their doubts about him.
The tide may be turning. A senior Democratic Hill aide told DailyMail.com that chances are ‘high’ that Biden pulls the plug but the timing is ‘fluid.’
This comes as it was revealed that Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin wrote to Biden, asking him to reconsider his re-election bid.
In a four-page letter, dated July 6th and obtained by The New York Times, Raskin begins with lavish praise for the president, for his record and his legacy.
Then, however, he changes his tune and compares Biden to an exhausted pitcher about to give the winning run to the competition in the big game.
Raskin used the example of Boston Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martínez, the pitcher who was left on the mound for the eighth inning of Game Seven of the 2003 American League Championship Series despite being tired.
Martínez allowed three runs, tying the game before the Yankees won with a walk-off home run in the 11th inning that denied the Red Sox a trip to the World Series.
‘There is no shame in taking a well-deserved bow to the overflowing appreciation of the crowd when your arm is tired out, and there is real danger for the team in ignoring the statistics,’ Raskin wrote.
‘Your situation is tricky because you are both our star pitcher and our manager. But in democracy, as you have shown us more than any prior president, you are not a manager acting all alone; you are the co-manager along with our great team and our great people. Caucus with the team, Mr. President. Hear them out. You will make the right decision.’
Raskin’s letter was the latest in a series of revelations from top Democrats, leading to speculation Biden could exit 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 greatly diminished
Former President Barack Obama has told allies that Biden should seriously consider his candidacy, the Washington Post reported Thursday.
Obama is said to believe Biden’s path to victory has greatly diminished, but thinks the president needs to make the decision to quit himself.
Meanwhile, Axios reported that Democratic sources believe the drumbeat to exit the race will pressure Biden into making the decision to step aside, perhaps happening as early as this weekend.
A defiant Biden has insisted publicly that he will be the Democratic nominee and only God or a ‘medical condition’ would compel him to bow out. So far, he’s been supported by family members, first lady Jill Biden and son Hunter, in the decision to stay put.
But privately he’s started to realize that might be untenable, as polling shows him losing to Trump and surveys show widespread concerns about his age and health that he’s unlikely to overcome.
This week private conversations he’s had with top Congressional Democrats have started to leak out, with reports saying Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries have delivered to Biden some hard truths.
They warned the president that he will lose the White House – and could take Congressional majorities down with him.
Overall, 20 Democrats have urged Biden to quit the race.
But others remain loyal to the president and visibly angry at the leaks, arguing it hurts the party overall.
‘I can’t tell you all how shameful it feels to hear all these leaks about what Democratic leaders are staying and not to have a single one of them out here confirming or denying it. It’s a lack of leadership and it’s making all Democrats look bad,’ Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar wrote on X.
‘Whatever this mess leads to will not undo the damage that has already been inflicted. May God help us all.’