WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – Incumbent US President Joe Biden appears to have begun to accept the idea that he may have to drop out of the Presidential race because it will be too difficult for him to catch former President Donald Trump, The New York Times has reported, citing several people close to the president.
The report cited one of the people close to Biden as saying on Thursday that the US president had not yet made up his mind to drip out of the presidential race.
However, the newspaper cited another source as saying that the «reality is setting in» and that it would not be a surprise if Biden made an announcement soon endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris as his replacement.
At the same time, the newspaper cited White House officials as saying that Biden was not moving toward dropping out of the race. They reportedly dismissed media reports, calling them «a coordinated campaign of leaks» by Democratic leaders to escalate the pressure on Biden.
NBC News reported on Thursday, citing sources, that Biden’s political world is collapsing as his allies have either publicly or privately called on him to step aside, and major donations have fallen off a cliff.
«We’re close to the end,» the broadcaster quoted a person close to Biden as saying.
The person reportedly added that Biden is nearing a point of no return.
The report cited a person with knowledge of the projections as saying that the Biden campaign now expects to raise only 25% of the big donor money it had originally projected to raise in July.
The broadcaster reported last week that the Biden campaign was secretly polling Harris’ viability against Trump amid calls for the US president to withdraw from the race.
The Washington Post reported on Thursday, citing three Democratic officials, that Former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told some House Democrats that she believes that Biden can soon be persuaded to drop out of the race amid serious doubts he can win the election.
The media also reported that Pelosi’s aides declined to address her talks with her colleagues, dismissing the media «feeding frenzy» about her discussions with Biden.
Numerous Democrats have called on Biden to end his campaign and step aside for an alternative nominee following a dismal debate performance against Trump last month.
The Biden campaign has said that they are not planning for a scenario in which Biden is not the Democratic presidential candidate.
