As calls from Democratic members of Congress for President Joe Biden to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race increase, he has firmly reiterated his commitment to continue his campaign.
What Happened: Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) chose her words carefully during an appearance on "Morning Joe" Wednesday.
Pelosi said she would support whatever Biden decides, an interesting comment that came after Biden appears to have already decided he is staying in the race.
"It's up to the president to decide if he's going to run. We're all encouraging him to make that decision. Because time is running short," Pelosi said.
A long-time Biden ally, Pelosi may be working behind the scenes to drum up support to force Biden out, according to a report from Politico.
Sources said that Pelosi has held private discussions with members of Congress, encouraging them to come forward with concerns about Biden remaining in the race. Other sources highlight Nancy Pelosi’s usual precision with language, noting that her carefully chosen words during Wednesday’s interview signaled support for a change.
Some Congressional members believe Pelosi might be the voice that is able to convince Biden to step aside.
"There's only one person who has the gravitas and balls to say anything to Biden, and it's Pelosi," a former Hill aide said, as reported by The Washington Post.
Former President Barack Obama, a long-time ally of Biden, is also reportedly working quietly behind the scenes as the Democratic Party grapples with panic after Biden lost support from the party and voters following the first presidential debate.
Actor George Clooney, who previously headlined a fundraiser for Biden, wrote an op-ed with the New York Times Wednesday that called for Biden to step down as the Democratic presidential nominee in the 2024 election.
According to the report, Clooney and Obama spoke before the piece went live. Obama didn't object to the piece being published, according to the report.
Obama, who was Biden's boss during eight years in the White House with Biden as vice president, has been a strong supporter of the presidential candidate and defended his poor debate performance.
"Bad debate nights happen. But this election is still a choice between someone who has fought for ordinary folks his entire life and someone who only cares about himself," Obama previously said.
The former president said the debate doesn't change the election with so much at stake going forward.
Obama’s decision not to dissuade Clooney from proceeding with his piece coincides with public criticism of Biden's campaign by some of the president’s former aides.
Why It's Important: More than 10 Democratic Representatives have publicly called for Biden to step down with Michigan Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-MI) joining the calls Thursday.
"We just have too much at sake in this election to sit on the sidelines and be silent while we still have time to do something," Scholten told the Detroit News.
Scholten is the first freshman to publicly call for Biden to step aside, and comes from the key 2024 election swing state of Michigan.
The congresswoman said she has heard from members of her district on their concerns over Biden in the race.
"The people of Michigan's 3rd Congressional District elected me to represent them with integrity. That's what I am doing now."
Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT) became the first senator to publicly call for Biden to step down on Wednesday.
"We cannot unsee President Biden's disastrous debate performance. We cannot ignore or dismiss the valid questions raised since that night," Welch said.
Betting odds for Biden have declined in prediction markets following recent criticisms from members of Congress.
On prediction market Polymarket, which lets users deposit with USDC USDC/USD, Polygon MATIC/USD and Ethereum ETH/USD, several political outcomes are offered.
One market is for the Democratic nominee in the 2024 election. On Thursday, Vice President Kamala Harris passed Biden once again and has a 44% chance of winning according to bettors, with Biden second at 38%.
A betting market on whether Biden will drop out of the 2024 election spiked to 66% on Thursday.
The overall 2024 election winner odds saw Trump trade as the heavy favorite at 62%, followed by Harris at 16% and Biden at 11%.
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