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More than 80 per cent chance Joe Biden steps down, oddsmakers say - as insider claims president is starting to 'accept' calls to bow out of 2024 race
Damning new data shows that there is a whopping 84 percent chance that Joe Biden will step aside in the 2024 presidential election as his high profile political allies continue to abandon him in the wake of June's disastrous debate performance.
Biden, 81, was initially adamant that he would be the Democratic nominee for the presidency to face off against Donald Trump in November but is now reportedly open to talks about his political future.
The data released on Friday from Polymarket, the world's largest prediction market, suggests Biden stepping aside is becoming increasingly likely. The market allows users to buy shares in the probability rate that an event will happen.
Graphs show that just before the debate, which took place in Atlanta on June 27, barely 25 percent of users felt there was a chance that Biden wold drop out of the race.
In fact, it's lower than the number who thought he would drop out in March 2024, which was on the back of Biden's well-received State of the Union address.
President Joe Biden, 81, is recovering from Covid-19 at home as he mulls his political future
There have been calls for Biden to leave the Democratic ticket since his disastrous debate performance in June
The number appears to spike at the beginning of July as leaders including Rep. Nancy Pelosi gave lukewarm endorsements for Biden's campaign.
'It's up to the president to decide if he is going to run. We're all encouraging him to make that decision because time is running short,' she said during an appearance on MSNBC.
For his part, Biden remains isolated as he battles Covid-19 at home in Delaware, the president is relying on a few longtime aides as he weighs whether to bow to the mounting pressure to drop out.
Late Thursday, Montana Sen. Jon Tester became the second Democrat in the chamber — and now among nearly two dozen in Congress — calling on him to bow out, saying, 'Biden should not seek reelection to another term.'
The Biden For President campaign is calling an all-staff meeting for Friday. It's heading into a critical weekend for the party as Trump wrapped up a heady Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
Democrats, racing time, will consider the extraordinary possibility of Biden stepping aside for a new presidential nominee before their own convention next month in Chicago.
As anxiety and information swirled, Biden's closest friend in Congress and his campaign co-chair, Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, told The Associated Press'
'President Biden deserves the respect to have important family conversations with members of the caucus and colleagues in the House and Senate and Democratic leadership and not be battling leaks and press statements,' he said.
Biden, 81, shuffles off of the debate stage along with First Lady Jill Biden
The reporting in this story is based in part on information from almost a dozen people who insisted on anonymity to discuss sensitive private deliberations. The Washington Post first reported on Obama's involvement.
Campaign officials said Biden was even more committed to staying in the race even as the calls for him to go mounted. And senior West Wing aides have had no internal discussions or conversations with the president about Biden dropping out.
On Friday, the Democratic National Committee 's rulemaking arm expects to meet to discuss plans for the virtual roll call nominating the president in early August, ahead of the party's convention later that month.
But there is also time to reconsider. Biden has been told the campaign is having trouble raising money, and key Democrats see an opportunity as he is away from the campaign for a few days to encourage his exit.
Among his Cabinet, some are resigned to the likelihood of him losing in November.
Biden tested positive for COVID-19 while traveling in Las Vegas earlier this week and is experiencing 'mild symptoms' including 'general malaise' from the infection, the White House said.
The president himself, in a radio interview taped just before he tested positive, dismissed the idea it was too late for him to recover politically, telling Univision's Luis Sandoval that many people don't focus on the November election until September.
'All the talk about who's leading and where and how, is kind of, you know — everything so far between Trump and me has been basically even,' he said in an excerpt of the interview released Thursday.
Ex-president Donald Trump has enjoyed a surge in popularity after he was shot at during a rally in Pennsylvania
But in Congress, Democratic lawmakers have begun having private conversations about lining up behind Vice President Kamala Harris as an alternative.
One lawmaker said Biden’s own advisers are unable to reach a unanimous recommendation about what he should do. More in Congress are considering joining the others who have called for Biden to drop out.
Obama has conveyed to allies that Biden needs to consider the viability of his campaign but has also made clear that the decision is one Biden needs to make.
The former president has taken calls in recent days from members of congressional leadership, Democratic governors and key donors to discuss their concerns about his former vice president.