A few within President Joe Biden's team anticipate his withdrawal from the 2024 presidential run shortly due to his abysmal performance in the debate, a new report claimed.
TMZ reported that an unidentified high-ranking member of the campaign had informed specific funders of Biden that his withdrawal from the campaign was imminent.
According to an unnamed insider, the Democratic Party is currently prioritizing the objective of keeping control of the White House rather than just backing the 81-year-old president.
A recent survey by The New York Times and Siena College revealed that Donald Trump's advantage in the election increased after the debate. Among likely voters across the country, the former president now holds a six-point lead over Biden, with Trump at 49% and Biden at 43%.
Although the White House maintains that Biden is "remaining in the race," the campaign official expressed skepticism about the likelihood of the polls "improving" shortly.
According to the source, if Biden were to withdraw, the official believes that Vice President Kamala Harris would be the most likely option to replace him as the party's presidential nominee.
The insider emphasized that only Harris can effectively utilize the substantial amount of finances accumulated by the Biden-Harris campaign if the president withdraws.
According to The New York Times, Biden attempted to assure his campaign workers on Wednesday that he would indeed be the chosen candidate for the Democratic party.
"No one's pushing me out. I'm not leaving,” he said during a conference call.
Harris, who joined the call, backed Biden, saying: "We will not back down. We will follow our president's lead. We will fight, and we will win."
Biden's suitability for the presidential position has been consistently scrutinized over the past few months.
Concerns regarding Biden's cognitive aptitude escalated following the recent debate, where he exhibited prolonged pauses and encountered difficulties in coherently constructing statements.
According to anonymous sources who have communicated with the president, Biden is aware that he may need to withdraw if he fails to perform well in his subsequent public appearances and demonstrate to voters that he can fulfill his responsibilities.
"He knows if he has two more events like [the debate], we're in a different place" by the end of this week, an unnamed tipster said.
This week, Biden is slated to interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos and is also expected to make campaign stops in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Photo: Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons