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While Obama, who has only spoken to Biden once since the presidential debate, has maintained that the decision to stay in the race is up to the president, he has been extensively engaging in conversations with anxious Democrats, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, about Biden’s challenges behind the scenes read more
 "After Nancy Pelosi, Obama now thinks Biden should 'reconsider' presidential bid")
Joe Biden and Barack Obama. Reuters file
After Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Adam Schiff and numerous others, former President Barack Obama now has expressed his reservations about Joe Biden’s rerun campaign.
According to a report by the Washington Post, Obama has told his allies in recent days that US President Biden’s path to victory has greatly diminished and he thinks the leader needs to seriously consider the viability of his candidacy.
While Obama, who has only spoken to Biden once since the presidential debate, has maintained that the decision to stay in the race is up to the president, he has been extensively engaging in conversations with anxious Democrats, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, about Biden’s challenges behind the scenes.
The report also quotes sources who said that Obama has mentioned in some of his conversations that he is concerned that the polls are moving away from Biden, expanding a wider path of victory for Donald Trump.
Nancy Pelosi doubts candidacy
White House officials believe former House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi backed Representative Adam Schiff’s call for President Biden to step aside in the US presidential race and she has told Biden he cannot win the November 5 election.
Schiff said in a statement on Wednesday that he has “serious concerns” about whether Biden can defeat Republican challenger Donald Trump, the first Democrat to come out after the Saturday assassination attempt against the former president. Biden’s campaign had believed that the shooting, in which Trump sustained a wound to the right ear, had tamped down calls for him to step aside in the 2024 race before Schiff’s statement.
Pelosi is “convinced public sentiment is against POTUS (president of the United States) and he can’t change it,” the source added.
Biden open to suggestions
Meanwhile, Biden, who tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday, has reportedly become more receptive to hearing arguments about him stepping aside from the presidential race.
In fact, in an interview with BET News earlier this week, Biden said that questions about his health and fitness are “legitimate.”
“But I understand why people say. Look, I’m only three years older than Trump, okay? And I think I’m in a little better physical shape than he is. But the point is though that it’s not unreasonable for people to say ‘wait a minute, you’re 81 years old,’" he said.
“And so I think it’s a legitimate thing from the race and as long as I can demonstrate that it’s not affecting my ability to compete and my ability to get things done, my ability to literally lead the world,”
With inputs from agencies
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English (US) ·