Democratic mood worsens as Joe Biden faces new pressure

The Washington Post reported that Obama had privately said Biden’s chances were significantly slimmer. Spokespeople for the former president declined to comment.

The latest lawmaker to withdraw his support for Biden’s run is Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio. The Democrat released a statement Friday saying it is his “job to keep fighting” for his constituents.

“I agree with the many Ohioans who have reached out to me. At this critical time, we need to refocus our full attention on these important issues. I believe the president should end his campaign,” he said.

It followed multiple reports that former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the two most senior Democrats in Congress, Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer, had advised Mr. Biden to reconsider his candidacy for the good of the party. All have rejected the reports.

But a senior Democratic source told BBC News the mood in Washington was sombre, adding: “We are all waiting for the inevitable decision.”

Adam Smith, a Democratic congressman for Washington state, painted a similarly bleak picture. Asked on BBC Radio 4’s The World Tonight whether the party was “at the end” of Biden’s candidacy, he said: “That’s my feeling.”

“I mean, I don’t know. But without a doubt, I think that’s the direction this is going right now.”

Biden has had a rough few weeks since his poor performance in the first presidential debate late last month. He is currently in isolation in Delaware as he recovers from a Covid infection.

Donald Trump, on the other hand, officially accepted his party’s presidential nomination on Thursday evening at the Republican Party convention in Milwaukee.

He struck a confident tone in his first speech since surviving an assassination attempt. Delegates and supporters at the convention have been in an upbeat mood all week.

Mr. Biden has struck a defiant tone so far in response to Democratic pressure to step aside as his party’s nominee. He continues to enjoy the public support of many politicians, including members of Congress’s powerful black caucus.

Mr Schumer, the Senate majority leader, and Mr Jeffries, the top Democrat in the House of Representatives, reportedly told Mr Biden last week that their congressional colleagues were “concerned” that his troubles would jeopardize their own re-election chances.

Mr Schumer said the messages were “idle speculation”, while Mr Jeffries said it was “a private conversation that will remain private”.

CNN, meanwhile, reported that Ms. Pelosi had told Mr. Biden that polls show he can’t win. She later criticized the reporting as a “feeding frenzy,” but did not deny that a conversation with Mr. Biden had taken place.

Maryland Congressman Jamie Raskin wrote a letter to Biden, comparing him to a baseball pitcher at the end of his career. He said there was “no shame” in retiring “to the admiration of the public when your arm is tired.”

But TJ Ducklo, a senior adviser to the Biden campaign, criticized the reports of concerns about the scale as “unsubstantiated guesses from anonymous sources.”

“Joe Biden is his party’s nominee,” he wrote on X. “He is running for re-election.”

Deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks said Biden “had no doubts. The president made his decision. I don’t want to be rude, but I don’t know how many more times we can answer that.”

Biden has mild upper respiratory symptoms related to Covid but does not have a fever, presidential physician Kevin O’Connor said Thursday.

The White House said he is expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday after arriving in the US.