Pressure is building on Joe Biden to end his re-election campaign after it emerged former president Barack Obama told allies his path to victory has greatly diminished.
Mr Obama said he thinks the US president needs to seriously consider the viability of his candidacy, The Washington Post reported, citing multiple sources who had been briefed on the ex-leader’s thinking.
Meanwhile, Mr Biden has reportedly said he would consider dropping out of the 2024 race if he was diagnosed with a “medical condition” by a doctor.
In a pre-recorded interview with BET News, the president said he would re-evaluate his campaign “if I had some medical condition that emerged”.
“If doctors came to me and said, you got this problem and that problem,” he added.
He also acknowledged he had run for the presidency as a “transitional candidate” and had expected to “pass it on to somebody else”.
But he said he had not expected how divided the US would become, adding: “There’s more to do and I’m reluctant to walk away from that.”
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Who could replace Biden and how?
Top Democrats call for Biden to drop campaign
Several top Democrat leaders have reportedly privately pushed him to drop his campaign.
US Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and former House speaker Nancy Pelosi have told Mr Biden they are concerned he will not only lose the White House but also cost the party any chance of winning back the House of Representatives in the 5 November election, several reports said.
So far 20 out of 264 Democrats in Congress have called on the 81-year-old president to drop out following his dire performance during a debate against Donald Trump, 78, last month.
Mr Biden has insisted he will not back down, arguing he beat Mr Trump before and he will do so again.
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Biden heard sounding unwell during interview
Asked about reports Mr Biden might be coming around to the idea of leaving the race, his deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks told the Associated Press news agency: “He is not wavering on anything.”
It comes after Mr Biden tested positive for COVID-19 during a campaign visit in Nevada, forcing him to return to his home in Delaware to work in isolation.