‘It’s over’: Push for Joe Biden to back Kamala Harris

Democratic powerbrokers are drafting plans for Joe Biden to support Kamala Harris if he bows to pressure and abandons his bid for a second term.

Democratic Party powerbrokers are drafting plans for US President Joe Biden to throw his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris if he bows to growing pressure and abandons his bid for a second term.

The bombshell report emerged hours after the pair had lunch at the White House, as a series of polls emerged showing former president Donald Trump had extended his lead after Mr Biden’s disastrous debate performance last week.

US President Joe Biden arrives at the Medal of Honour ceremony in the East Room of the White House as speculation about his future grows. Picture: AFP

The first cracks in Joe Biden’s campaign are beginning to show. Picture: AFP

Vice President Kamala Harris has joined crisis talks. Picture: AFP

The President flatly denied that he had privately conceded to allies that he may not be able to salvage his re-election effort, telling campaign staff: “No one’s pushing me out. I’m not leaving. I’m in this race to the end, and we’re going to win.”

But more Democratic lawmakers and donors broke ranks to pull their support, with one member of Congress telling CNN: “We are just waiting for the announcement … It’s over.”

Ms Harris, who joined Mr Biden’s crisis talks with their campaign team, reportedly said: “We will not back down … We will follow our President’s lead.”

It was reported, however, that she had told aides that the decision to drop out was “Biden’s alone to make”, as party officials and advisers plotted a blueprint for the President to support her rather than spark an all-in battle to lead the Democratic ticket in November.

TRUMP WIDENS LEAD

A post-debate poll from the Wall Street Journal showed Trump had extended his lead over Mr Biden to 48 per cent to 42 per cent, with just 34 per cent of voters viewing the President favourably.

Some 80 per cent of voters said the 81-year-old – the oldest president in US history – was too old to seek a second term.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said it was “absolutely false” that Mr Biden had considered dropping out of the race, as she claimed his shaky effort against Trump was due not only to a cold but jet lag, even though he returned to the US from Europe almost two weeks before last week’s debate.

First Lady Jill Biden also sought to reassure Democrats at a campaign event, saying: “Joe is the Democratic nominee, and he is going to beat Donald Trump just like he did in 2020.”

But Arizona congressman Raúl Grijalva became the second House Democrat to call on the President to “get out of this race”, while Netflix co-founder and Democratic mega-donor Reed Hastings said he needed to “allow a vigorous Democratic leader to beat Trump”.

US President Joe Biden at the White House as the debate fallout continues.

More lawmakers were planning to publicly push for Mr Biden to drop out as he sought to revive his chances with a series of radio and TV interviews in coming days.

On Wednesday night (local time), the President and Ms Harris held crisis talks at the White House with Democratic governors including California’s Gavin Newsom, Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmer and Kentucky’s Andy Beshear – all of whom have been touted as potential replacement candidates.

Donald Trump has extended his lead over Joe Biden after the US President’s disastrous debate. Picture: AFP

In a sign of the scale of Mr Biden’s problems, one poll showed he trailed Trump by 10 percentage points in the battleground state of Arizona, where the Democratic Senate candidate led her Republican rival by eight percentage points.

Trump remained silent but his campaign chiefs released a statement which accused Democrats of colluding “to hide the truth from the American public” during Mr Biden’s presidency.

“Joe Biden is weak, failed, dishonest and not fit for the White House,” Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles said.

BIDEN ‘KNOWS’ HE MAY DROP OUT OF ELECTION RACE

It came as Mr Biden’s resolve to “keep fighting” in the 2024 election campaign faltered amid reports he admitted privately “it’s just not working”.

The White House furiously denied reports that Mr Biden told key allies he was considering dropping out of the presidential race after his debate debacle against Donald Trump.

“He knows he may not be able to salvage his candidacy if he cannot convince the public in the coming days that he is up for the job after a disastrous debate performance last week,” an ally to the president told The New York Times.

The Biden confidant continued the President “knows if he has two more events like that, we’re in a different place” by the end of the weekend. Another close friend to the president corroborated the conversations to CNN, saying Mr Biden is aware “it’s just not working.”

“He sees the moment. He’s clear-eyed,” the insider said.