Washington, DC, July 12:
The 'concerns' that former US President Obama and House Speaker Pelosi have privately voiced regarding Joe Biden's 2024 candidacy have focused on the 'difficulty' that they anticipate he will face in his race against Donald Trump.
Nevertheless, the former president and the former speaker are both unsure of what to do next.The Democrats are desperately trying to put a stop to their internal strife and return their attention to their goal of unseating Trump. Democrats are looking to Obama or Pelosi for leadership, since they know that Biden doesn't trust Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries can't get his views over to him.
The conclusion of Biden's candidacy seems inevitable; the only question now is how it will play out, even after Thursday night's news conference, according to CNN's reporting, which cites its conversations with more than a dozen members of Congress, operatives, and individuals in touch with both Obama and Pelosi. If Obama and Pelosi have the opposite view, a number of prominent Democrats contend that it is imperative that they make their position known immediately in order to prevent additional harm in the months running up to the election.
Pelosi has a lot of people counting on her to calm the party down. When Hillary tells Biden to drop out of the campaign, a lot of people think the problem will go away. After the debate, Pelosi spoke with Biden, but her aides said that she doesn't consider Biden's choice to stay in the race to be final. She chose not to elaborate any more.
But Obama has been silent for two weeks, and many prominent Democrats are starting to feel abandoned by his normally reserved approach. He wrote on X after the debate, "Rough debate evenings happen. While in New York for a fundraiser for House Democrats, he reiterated the phrase "trust me, I know." in the same vein. The staffers to both Biden and Obama allegedly worked together to make comparisons to Obama's own unsuccessful re-election campaign in 2012, when he faced similar heated debates.
It's no news in Washington that Obama is becoming increasingly skeptical of Biden's reelection chances. Historians will look back on this extraordinary two-week period in American politics and see how Obama and Pelosi helped steer a party that was in crisis.
"They are watching and waiting for President Biden to reach a decision on his own," said a longtime Democrat close to both Obama and Pelosi, who preferred to remain anonymous so as not to offend Biden. There has been no official word from the Biden campaign regarding this.No member of Congress would know the specifics of such talks, according to Pelosi's spokesman, who yet acknowledges that she and Obama have discussed Biden. When dealing with nervous Democratic donors and officials, Obama has avoided taking a strong stance that could be leaked by opting instead to listen than speak.
Even in their post-debate phone conversation, he pretended to be Biden's "sounding board and private counselor," asking questions and playing devil's advocate rather than taking a stand. A number of Democrats have said in the last two weeks that Obama downplayed his ability to sway Biden's choice, highlighting the complicated nature of their long-standing relationship. They haven't communicated nearly as often since leaving government as their advisors have suggested.
Looking through the lens of their previous encounters, Obama's demand for Biden to resign could be interpreted in a certain way. For example, after his son Beau's death in 2016, Joe Biden contemplated running in the Democratic primary, but he may still believe that Obama wasn't supportive enough. Obama's original goal in that meeting was to encourage Biden to concentrate on his grief instead of preparing for the primary election against Clinton and Sanders. However, a different interaction may lead to a different interpretation.'Well, Mr. President, you previously used that chip in 2015 and it got us Donald Trump,' a longtime 2020 campaign aide speculated, adding the words of Biden. "I think it would harden him more."
And Obama is hesitant to get too involved for fear of providing Trump with fresh fodder. Obama has established himself as a unifier and validated the party's course in the past, like in the 2020 Democratic primaries. In the present confusion surrounding Biden's candidacy, he has not yet pledged to take up that role.
At one of Biden's two fundraising events this year—in Los Angeles last month—Obama showed his support, and George Clooney went on to express concern about Biden's health. Obama doubted Biden's decision to attend the G-7 summit even as he questioned his decision to fly overnight across five time zones.
By stating, "He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate," Clooney pleaded with Biden to resign in an article for the New York Times. A few of Biden supporters were enraged by this essay because they believed Clooney was working for Obama. Biden adherents viewed it as treachery, while Obama, who was acquainted with Clooney, was aware of the piece but did nothing to stop it, preserving neutrality, according to some defenders.
Some said that Biden's condition was due to jet lag, and Obama hung out with Biden for a lot longer than Clooney did at the dinner. Regarding whether or not this was still being considered as an evaluation of Biden's condition, an Obama adviser chose not to comment.
In a major turn of events, Pelosi questioned Biden's candidacy on Wednesday morning's "Morning Joe" on MSNBC. More Democrats demanded that Biden resign after her remarks, even though she had privately advised colleagues to spare him embarrassment while NATO officials were in town.
Pelosi is in a special situation because she has known Biden for decades and is one of his most ardent supporters. Currently, she has the potential to become the most important Democratic leader in the event that Biden resigns. "She's the one in a situation like this, especially generationally, who has the credibility to weigh in on something that is so sensitive and important," a Democratic member of the House said. Pelosi is scheduled to travel to San Francisco on Friday, which will leave the Democratic Party searching for direction among these uncertain times.
