Top Democratic Leaders Privately Met With Biden To Air Concerns About His Candidacy

WASHINGTON ― Top House and Senate Democratic leaders privately met with President Joe Biden in recent days to raise concerns about his ability to defeat Donald Trump in the November election and his continued candidacy, fearing it could lead Republicans taking full control of Congress.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) separately met with Biden in the last week. Both conveyed the concerns they’ve been fielding within their Democratic caucuses, namely that Biden is down in the polls and he could drag Democratic lawmakers down with him.

The president met one-on-one with both congressional leaders, with no aides in the room, according to a source familiar with their meetings.

Beyond those conversations, CNN reported late Wednesday that former longtime House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told Biden in a recent phone call that polling shows that he can’t win against Trump and that he could hurt Democrats’ ability to win back the House.

And according to another CNN report on Wednesday, a senior Democratic advisor to Biden said the president has recently shifted from being defensive to more “receptive” to hearing arguments for why he should step aside.

Democrats on Capitol Hill have been in full-blown panic mode about Biden’s mental acuity after his disastrous debate performance against Trump last month. The president’s polling has taken a hit since, and four months out from Election Day, Democrats’ reactions have ranged from saying it’s up to Biden to decide whether to stay in, to straight-up calling on him to bow out. Some are still proudly ridin’ with Biden .

As of Wednesday, at least 20 Democratic lawmakers have publicly urged Biden to step aside.

But