Former Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi said in private conversations with House Democrats that President Joe Biden could be persuaded to drop out of the race “pretty soon,” The Washington Post reported, citing sources.
Unnamed Democratic Party donors also told Financial Times that Mr. Biden’s withdrawal from the race was brought closer by their refusal to donate campaign funds. The sources believe that the President may announce his withdrawal from the election as early as this weekend.
Nancy Pelosi is actively trying to convince Joe Biden to drop out of the presidential election. In a conversation with some members of the House of Representatives leadership, she said that Mr Biden is “close” to this decision.
Nancy Pelosi’s aides declined to comment on her congressional talks, saying the media is “feeding the hype” over her discussion with Joe Biden. On July 18, CNN citing sources, reported on Nancy Pelosi’s private conversation with Joe Biden, in which she said that his participation in the presidential election deprives the Democratic Party of a chance to win.
To the decision to withdraw from the race Joe Biden could have approached the boycott of the sponsors of the Democratic Party. Earlier US media wrote that several sponsors suspended the transfer of donations totalling more than $90 million until the party replaces Joe Biden with another candidate. Speaking to Financial Times, the sponsors claim that Mr Biden “got the signal” to suspend donations. They say the incumbent is now under “insurmountable pressure.”
Speech for Biden is done
A major Democratic Party donor has prepared a draft of a speech that should allow Joe Biden to leave the presidential race with dignity. Daily Beast has obtained the text of the draft.
Calls for Biden to withdraw from the race intensified after he was diagnosed with a COVID-19 on July 17 and forced to suspend his campaign. “A major West Coast contributor” put together a draft of a speech Biden could give to the party and the country, abandoning his re-election bid.
Key points in Biden’s speech:
- The most important thing right now is to save the soul of America;
- Our democracy is in danger;
- This election must be won;
- To succeed, we will need the confidence of the American people;
- I have believed—and still believe—I can do the job;
- But it has become clear that the majority of Americans want a younger person for the job—younger than either of the two candidates;
- Therefore I have decided to step aside and let a next-generation candidate run for president on the Democratic ticket.
Initially, the media wrote that Biden has no plans to withdraw from the race, as he relies on a narrow circle of loyal politicians and family members who believe he will win. However, CNN recently reported that Biden is becoming “receptive” to calls to step aside. According to the network’s source, he has gone from asserting “Kamala can’t win” to asking “Do you think Kamala can win?” hinting that his place in the race could be taken by Vice President Kamala Harris.
Discussions among Democrats about Joe Biden’s ability to win the election began after a debate with Donald Trump that was unsuccessful for him. The president himself called it a bad episode and explained what happened with a cold. After the debate, as the US media wrote, the Democrats began discussing a possible replacement for the party’s candidate in the November elections, and Mr. Biden’s campaign headquarters faced the risk of a shortage of funds due to doubts of sponsors in his victory.
