Joe Biden urged to withdraw by key Democrat Chuck Schumer

Chuck Schumer – the Democratic leader in the Senate, is said to have had a “blunt one-on-one conversation” with Joe Biden.

A Covid-stricken Joe Biden said he would quit the election race if his doctor suggested he should, amid a rapidly intensifying effort from top Democratic leaders to force him out.

The US President was also “being receptive” in private talks about his flailing candidacy, a marked shift from his defiant claim that only the “Lord Almighty” could make him abandon his re-election effort against Donald Trump.

While the internal rebellion against the 81-year-old abated in the wake of the assassination attempt against Donald Trump, it reignited on Wednesday (local time) just as Mr Biden was forced off the campaign trail with Covid.

In an interview, Mr Biden was asked if anything would force him to reconsider his candidacy.

“If I had some medical condition that emerged, if somebody, if doctors came to me and said, you got this problem and that problem,” he replied.

US President Joe Biden boards Air Force One as he departs Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada, after testing positive to Covid. Picture: AFP

The oldest president in history was then hit by a wave of leaks about his talks with the party’s top leaders, including Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer, who reportedly met him at his Delaware home last weekend for a “blunt one-on-one conversation”.

He “forcefully made the case that it would be best if Biden bowed out of the race”, according to the explosive ABC report. Senator Schumer’s spokesman would only say that he “conveyed the views of his caucus” to the President, calling the story “idle speculation”.

The Washington Post also reported that Senator Schumer and Democratic House leader Hakeem Jeffries both told Mr Biden that his continued candidacy imperilled the party’s chances of winning back the House or hanging on to the Senate after November’s election.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer leaves the US Capitol in Washington, DC. Picture: Getty Images via AFP

And CNN revealed that Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi – considered one of the few party veterans who could conceivably encourage him to change his mind – told Mr Biden that the polls showed he could not beat his bitter Republican rival.

Mr Biden reportedly became defensive during their call, prompting Ms Pelosi to ask one of his closest advisers to explain the data to him. But CNN reported the 81-year-old had been “receptive” to the conversations and was “not as defiant as he is publicly”.

A senior Democratic insider said the President had shifted from saying Vice President Kamala Harris “can’t win” to asking advisers if she could win.

“It’s still unclear where he’s going to land but seems to be listening,” the source said.

Mr Biden’s spokesman Andrew Bates: “The President told both leaders he is the nominee of the party, he plans to win, and looks forward to working with both of them.”

In a further blow, high-profile California congressman Adam Schiff restarted the run of Democrats publicly breaking ranks, saying it was time for him to “pass the torch”.

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“A second Trump presidency will undermine the very foundation of our democracy, and I have serious concerns about whether the president can defeat Donald Trump in November,” Mr Schiff said.

His intervention sparked suggestions that it was driven by Ms Pelosi, with one party source telling Puck: “That’s Nancy using her drone.”

“It’s the same as Obama using Clooney,” the source added, referencing former president Barack Obama declining to stop Hollywood star George Clooney calling for Mr Biden to quit.

Senator Schumer and Mr Jeffries successfully blocked a bid by Democratic chiefs to fast-track Mr Biden’s nomination in a virtual roll call this month, heeding calls from frustrated colleagues to give them more time to blast out the President.

US Representative Adam Schiff called for Biden to step down. Picture: AFP

A new Associated Press poll showed nearly two-thirds of Democratic voters wanted Mr Biden to end his bid for a second term, with barely three out of 10 supporters expressing confidence in his mental capability to serve in the Oval Office.

A separate BlueLabs Analytics polling memo – based on interviews with 15,000 voters in key battleground states – found Mr Biden trailing “nearly every” Democrat tested as an alternative candidate, including Ms Harris.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Mr Biden was experiencing “mild symptoms” from Covid. He was forced to skip a campaign event and returned home to Delaware, where she said he would self-isolate and “continue to carry out all of his duties”.

“I feel good,” the unmasked President told reporters as he boarded Air Force One.

Originally published as Joe Biden urged to withdraw by key Democrat Chuck Schumer