Obama wants Biden to ‘seriously’ reconsider campaign as Dem leaders say he could drop out by ‘this weekend’

Former president Barack Obama reportedly believes Joe Biden should seriously reconsider the viability of his campaign against Donald Trump, as polling repeatedly shows the president’s diminishing election chances.

Obama defended his former vice president after a disastrous debate performance that fueled concerns among voters and party leaders about his candidacy in a critical election, but he has spoken only once with Biden since then and his silence throughout the last several weeks has appeared to speak volumes.

He has instead been fielding calls from concerned Democrats, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, according to The Washington Post and the Associated Press, as a growing chorus of Democratic officials have publicly urged Biden to hang up his re-election campaign or risk taking down other crucial down-ballot races with him.

Pelosi has meanwhile privately warned Biden about his vanishing chances of re-election, as near-daily poll results show Trump gaining considerable ground in battleground states that Biden won in 2020.

Several top Democratic officials told Axios that the rising pressure from congressional leaders and allies could persuade the president — who at 81 years old is now isolating after a positive COVID-19 diagnosis — to drop out of the race as soon as this weekend.

“Joe Biden is his party’s nominee. He’s the President of the United States. He’s running for reelection,” campaign adviser TJ Ducklo said in response to reporting from Axios, which cited unnamed Democratic officials who are trying to persuade Biden to leave the race.

“Baseless conjecture from anonymous sources isn’t a scoop,” Ducklo said. “Tonight a convicted felon will talk about how he’ll make people’s lives worse if he gains