Biden ‘is considering stepping down and has told aides what would prompt him to do so’, as it’s claimed he could quit 2024 race as early as next week

Joe Biden has told his advisers he may have to step down as a 2024 presidential candidate. What could prompt that decision, as early as next week?

Allies who spoke to The New York Times said the 81-year-old has acknowledged that three performances scheduled this weekend will make or break his re-election bid.

Examples include an interview with ABC on Friday night and campaign visits to Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

An ally told the New York Times: “He knows if he has two more events like this, [the debate]we are in a different place.’

They are all seen as crucial after last Thursday’s disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump, which fueled calls from other Democrats for Biden to withdraw.

Biden and First Lady Jill Biden arrive to speak at a campaign rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, on June 28, 2024.

White House officials deny New York Times claims that an exit plan has been floated.

These stories are the first indication that the president is considering whether he can bounce back from his disastrous performance in the debate with Donald Trump.

His family, including his wife Jill and his former drug-addicted son Hunter, are among the allies who have reportedly pushed him hardest to stay in the White House.

But despite the harsh words, Biden is said to have privately admitted that he may have to withdraw in favor of a younger Democratic candidate who is taking on Trump’s growing popularity.

On Wednesday, Biden assured campaign staff during a phone call that despite growing calls for him to resign, he is still in the race for the 2024 presidency.

He said, ‘Let me say it as clearly and directly as I can: I’m running – no one is pushing me out.

“I’m not going away. I’m in this race until the end and we’re going to win.”

“If the New York Times had given us more than 7 minutes to comment, we would have said so.”

Later Wednesday evening, Biden met with 20 Democratic governors at the White House to assure them he was qualified to run.

Afterward, New York Governor Kathy Hochul claimed she and her colleagues unanimously supported Biden’s re-election bid.

But she has since been accused of lying by an anonymous Democratic source, who told the New York Times that there is far more dissatisfaction among governors with Biden’s performance and abilities than Hochul has indicated.

Senior advisers told the Associated Press that Biden has only a few days to convincingly demonstrate his fitness for office before panic sets in within his party, two people familiar with the matter said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss strategy.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also told reporters at her Wednesday briefing that Biden is not preparing to withdraw from the race.

Jean-Pierre was questioned for the better part of an hour about the president’s health, confirming that he has a cold but that he has not yet visited a doctor.

Jean-Pierre claimed that the president’s poor performance was due to “jet lag” suffered during his two international trips 12 days before the debate.

She also confirmed that Biden has not undergone a medical exam since February.

Biden even admitted that he nearly fell asleep on stage Tuesday night at a fundraising event in the posh Virginia suburb of McLean, Washington DC

He told the audience he was “not very smart” because he “traveled around the world a couple of times” before his televised confrontation with former President Donald Trump.

New poll shows Donald Trump leads by an average of three points in all seven swing states after last week’s debate with Joe Biden

Biden traveled to France twice in a row for the D-Day commemoration and then to Italy for the G7 in June.

After his return, the President went on vacation to his vacation home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

Biden then spent a full week at the presidential retreat Camp David resting and preparing for the debate.

On Tuesday, The New York Times reported that Biden was so exhausted from traveling that his advisers shortened his debate preparation by two days so he could still have time for the beach getaway.

At Camp David, debate prep didn’t start until 11 a.m., and Biden was given time to nap each afternoon.

The president made it clear during his campaign rally on Tuesday that his travels are “not an excuse but an explanation.”

Meanwhile, incumbent Democrats have called on President Biden to withdraw from the presidential race, a new blow to the campaign as more and more people turn against him.

Arizona Democrat Raul Grijalva, 76, is urging Biden not to run for re-election, The New York Times reported Wednesday, the second incumbent Democrat to call for the president’s withdrawal.

President Joe Biden speaks during a Medal of Honor ceremony at the White House in Washington, Wednesday, July 3, 2024

Two other House Democrats have said publicly that they are confident that former President Donald Trump will beat Biden. That lack of confidence will undoubtedly be a topic of conversation among party leaders, scheduled for tonight.

“If he is the candidate, I will support him, but I think this is an opportunity to look elsewhere,” Grijalva said.

“What he needs to do is take responsibility for keeping that seat. And part of that responsibility is to get out of this race.”

Biden will host the annual Independence Day celebration at the White House on Thursday and travel to Madison, Wisconsin, on Friday, where he will speak with ABC News for his first post-debate interview.

The president will travel to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Sunday for a campaign rally.

Both Wisconsin and Pennsylvania are key swing states that will determine the outcome of the 2024 race.

In those states and the five other battlegrounds, Trump holds a lead in the polls after their debate in Atlanta, Georgia on Thursday, June 27.

Since the debate, Biden and his team have conducted extensive damage control, reaching out to party members, staff, lawmakers, donors, allies and voters to convince them that Biden is still a viable candidate who can beat Trump again.

But many within the party are looking for other options, suggesting candidates such as Vice President Kamala Harris, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

No one can beat Trump in the national and crucial state polls, and all candidates are behind Biden in his chances of beating the former president.