WASHINGTON — Members of President Joe Biden’s family have discussed what an exit from his campaign would look like, according to two people familiar with the discussions.
The general tone of the talks has been that any exit plan — should Biden decide to take that step, as some of his closest allies increasingly believe he will — should put the party in the best position to defeat former President Donald Trump. and, at the same time, be worthy. of the more than five decades in which he served the country in elected positions, these people said.
Biden’s family members specifically discussed how he would like to end his re-election bid on his own terms and with a carefully calculated plan in place. Considerations about the campaign’s impact on his health, his family and the country’s stability are among those at the forefront of discussions, people familiar with the discussions said.
The prospect of Biden considering leaving office, much less that his family is hatching a possible exit plan, is an extraordinary development that comes after he has repeatedly said he would not relinquish his position as the party’s presumptive nominee.
But concerns have grown among party leaders, donors and even staffers who are part of his re-election effort with each passing day since a devastating debate three weeks ago. At the same time, Democrats are watching Republicans unite behind Trump, who just survived an assassination attempt and accepted his party’s nomination on Thursday night.
White House spokesman Andrew Bates denied that such exit discussions are taking place among the family.
“This is not happening, period,” he said. “The individuals making these claims are not speaking on behalf of their family or their team – and they will be proven wrong. Keep the faith.”
On MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Friday, Biden campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon acknowledged that the campaign has suffered some “slippages” but said it was “a small movement” and insisted that Biden still is “absolutely” in the race.
Ron Klain, Biden’s former White House chief of staff and adviser for decades, said in an interview that Biden is listening to public and private calls for him to drop out of the race.
“I think he’s feeling the pressure,” said Klain, who recently spoke with Biden. “I want him to stay home.”
Klain’s view is that it doesn’t make sense for Biden to be left out. He said some in his party underestimate Trump at their peril and underestimate the fact that Biden is the only one who has defeated him before.
Biden and those closest to him have felt hurt by efforts to oust him, which they consider indirect and disrespectful. The family is distraught and going through stages of anger and sadness over the way people they considered friends treated the president.
“There was a much more dignified way to do it, if that’s what they wanted,” said a Biden ally. “This is no way to treat a public servant who has done a lot for this country.”
Discussions about how to craft an appropriate plan for Biden’s departure also took place among senior officials, not just the president’s family, according to a person close to the reelection effort. Bates also denied that these discussions were taking place.
Biden’s most trusted family members include first lady Jill Biden, her son Hunter and her sister, Valerie Owens, as well as some longtime close aides who have been at the center of the discussions.
Talk about Biden’s political future has increased as he remains at his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, sidelined after testing positive for Covid on Wednesday.
On Thursday, some of Biden’s closest aides called trusted allies to find out where they thought his political stance stood, according to a person familiar with the calls.
One Democratic lawmaker described Biden at this time as “reflective.” A third person close to Biden described the president as politically “fighting for his life.”
There are growing expectations among some allies that if Biden leaves, it could happen in the coming days. But they also warn that it is still up to him to make the decision and that he is not prepared to give up, even when faced with seemingly insurmountable odds.
Regarding the possibility of any announcement being imminent, a person close to the Bidens said: “We don’t even know what we’re going to do tomorrow.”
Still, Biden is not impervious to mounting pressure from his own party, and he himself has said since the debate that he might consider dropping out of the race if there is no path to winning.
“I think it’s inevitable,” a second person close to the reelection effort said of Biden’s withdrawal from the race.
As reports emerged, including from NBC News, that Biden had shown signs he might give in to his insistence on remaining the candidate, rumors and reports — some that the president’s allies categorically denied — began to emerge. They included speculation about the timing of a possible exit, whether Biden would immediately support Vice President Kamala Harris and who was on the list to be his vice presidential running mate.
Among the reports: Former speechwriter and historian Jon Meacham was writing Biden’s exit remarks.
Meacham rejected the report.
“The report is completely false,” he said.
Amid the turmoil, the Biden campaign sent talking points to Democrats, in line with Democratic strategies: “President Biden did not speak to Congressional leadership today. The president is his party’s candidate, having received 14 million votes during the Democratic primaries. He is running for re-election and that will not change until he is re-elected.”
As many in his own party have turned against him, Biden continued this week to talk to allies and gauge their feelings.
“With all the rumors that I’m leaving, I’m not,” Biden told Reverend Al Sharpton, a civil rights leader and MSNBC host, in a phone call Monday, Sharpton said.
“I will support whatever you decide,” Sharpton told the president.
Sharpton said in an interview Thursday that legacy is something Biden “has to think about” as he contemplates his political future. “If there’s anyone who could come back… it’s Joe Biden. Whether he chooses to or not, I don’t know.”
Some in Biden’s camp hoped he would be able to weather the storm of pressure to step aside — that news events, including the Republican National Convention, would divert the national debate over whether and when he might end his campaign. But even Saturday’s assassination attempt on Trump did little to calm the furor surrounding Biden. In fact, Democrats have increased the pressure since then.
An important factor driving private pressure on Biden is fear among Democrats that his candidacy could rob them not only of the White House and the Senate, but also of the opportunity to hand the House over to their control. That helps explain why senior lawmakers pressured Biden to reconsider his decision to stay in the race.
“The House is on edge,” said Brian Wolff, treasurer of House Majority PAC, the main super PAC supporting Democratic candidates in the House. “These candidates don’t deserve this.”
Wolff said Democratic incumbents and challengers in tough races cannot risk fragmenting their own electoral coalitions by publicly taking one side or the other as Biden considers his options.
“They can’t afford to alienate the base that wants to support Biden or the base that wants someone else,” he said.
This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com read the full story
