Clock ticking on Biden as pressure to quit race increases

The walls appear to be closing in on Joe Biden.

Nancy Pelosi, Hakeem Jeffries, Chuck Schumer and Adam Schiff are about as influential as you can get within the Democratic party.

According to multiple reports in US media, all of them have advised the president that he should end his bid for re-election.

There are also reports that Barack Obama, the former president and party grandee, has told allies that Mr Biden's path to victory is greatly diminished, and that he needed to seriously consider his candidacy.

While not all of the names above have publicly called for Mr Biden to step down, it is notable that neither have they directly denied the claims made in the US media.

Ms Pelosi in particular is a battle-scarred politician who plays a good game of 3D chess.

She doesn't want to be accused of disloyalty to the president she admires but equally doesn't want to be seen as complicit if Democrats suffer huge losses under Mr Biden in November's election.

The New York Times reported that Mr Schumer was shown data from a top Democratic fundraising committee that alarmed him - the president is trailing behind in the must-win states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.

Many analysts believe Mr Biden's path to victory lies through this area of the country. There's also some evidence that Nevada, Georgia and Arizona could be slipping away.

President Biden himself has revised his view on what it would take for him to bow to the growing pressure.

He has gone from stating "only the Lord Almighty" could make him stand down, to telling BET (Black Entertainment Television) that he would re-evaluate his campaign if his doctor diagnosed him with a medical condition.

Then he announced he had Covid.

While he's had the illness before, the latest infection has exacerbated the ongoing concerns about his age, health and fragility.

To now get "general malaise", as the doctors put it, is not a great look for a leader many Americans already worry is past it.

The attempted assassination of Donald Trump appeared to have quelled the Democratic rebellion a week ago, but perhaps the reality is it's compounded it.

Politics isn't just about the strength of policies. It's about projecting physical strength as a leader.

Many Republicans here at the RNC said to me they are happy for Mr Biden to stay in the race because they believe he is no competition for Trump. And polls aside, their confidence is not unfounded.

Contrast yesterday's video of a fragile President Biden walking slowly down Air Force One with images of a death-defying Trump pumping his fist shouting "Fight! Fight! Fight!".

Ultimately, the decision to stand down has to come from Mr Biden. He is dismissive of polls, pointing to Trump's election 2016 victory, his own in 2020 and most recent midterm elections that were supposed to be a disaster for his party.

There are also Democrats who are still fully behind the president and consider him to still be sharp.

But with the Democratic National Convention a month away when the nomination is sealed, it feels as if the clock has again reset and is ticking.

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