Reports: Biden may be closer to reconsidering race as Obama, Pelosi make moves
WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday, prompting him to cancel a two-day swing through the battleground state of Nevada as he pushes for reelection.
The president says he has mild symptoms and is isolating, but the diagnosis comes at a crucial time. After a few days of focus on the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, some Democrats are pivoting back, amping up their calls for Biden to bow out of the race due to his age and, more specifically, his June debate performance.
To this point, Biden has insisted he was the Democrats’ best chance to beat Trump. But there are signs he may be changing his mind – or at least open to reconsidering.
In a pre-taped interview that aired on Wednesday night, FOX News says Biden told BET News host Ed Gordan that he'd reconsider staying in the race, "If I had some medical condition that emerged, if somebody, if doctors came to me and said, you got this problem and that problem."
RELATED: Biden says he'd drop out of the presidential race for these 4 reasons
Report: "We're close to the end"
Some of President Biden's most fervent internal supporters now believe that the writing is on the wall as major donations have subsided and top allies have called on the Democratic incumbent to step aside, NBC News reported, citing five people with knowledge of the situation. "We’re close to the end," a person close to Biden reportedly said, according to NBC.
That person reportedly acknowledged that it's still Biden's decision whether or not to drop out.
Report: Obama wants Biden to reconsider
Former President Barack Obama told his allies in recent days that he believes President Biden needs to reconsider his candidacy, The Washington Post reported Thursday, citing multiple people briefed on his thinking.
In his discussions with others, Obama reportedly has emphasized that Biden alone can make the decision to step away from the race. Obama has also pushed back against the idea that he alone can influence Biden, his former vice president, to withdraw from his presidential re-election bid.
Report: Pelosi told Biden he can’t win
Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the former Speaker of the House, had a second phone conversation with President Biden to insist that polling shows he cannot win against former President Trump, CNN reported, citing four sources briefed on the call. Pelosi reportedly told Biden that he could ruin Democrats' prospects of winning the House in November if he stays in the race.
According to FOX, one source reportedly described Biden's response as defensive. Another source said the president told Pelosi that he's seen polling data that shows he can defeat Trump. Biden reportedly at one point asked his longtime adviser, Mike Donilon, to join the call to discuss the data. The call reportedly happened within the past week.
It's the second known phone conversation between the president and Pelosi since Biden's uneven debate performance against Trump in Atlanta last month.
RELATED: Democrats on Biden's future: Two-thirds prefer a new nominee, poll shows
What if Biden drops out of 2024 race?
Biden has maintained that he will not step aside and will be the Democratic candidate, but what happens if he drops out of the race? LiveNOW from FOX's Josh Breslow posed the question to John Hanley, an associate lecturer at the School of Politics, Security and International Affairs at the University of Central Florida.
Biden 'working towards' decision, senator says
Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., told Reuters that President Biden is "working towards" a decision on whether he'll continue his re-election bid that is "good for the country."
"Joe Biden has always put the country first. He's done what's best for America...I think he'll keep doing so," Hickenlooper told Reuters in a phone interview late Wednesday. "He's working towards that."
President Joe Biden arrives to deliver remarks on the assassination attempt on Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump, at the White House on July 14, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
The senator, a former Democratic presidential candidate in 2020 before Biden won the nomination, stopped short of joining the growing list of members of his party – including, most recently, Rep. Adam Schiff – explicitly calling on Biden to step aside. Reuters asked Hickenlooper about Biden potentially stopping his re-election campaign.
"That's his decision to make, but certainly there's more and more indications that that would be in the best interests of the country, I think," Hickenlooper responded.
RELATED: List of top Democrats who have called on Biden to exit race
Schumer 'forcefully' told Biden he should drop his re-election bid: Report
Top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer reportedly told President Biden in a "blunt one-on-one conversation" Saturday it would be best if he "bowed out of the race," according to an ABC report.
"Chuck Schumer had a blunt one-on-one conversation with Biden Saturday afternoon in Rehoboth. Schumer forcefully made the case that it would be best if Biden bowed out of the race," ABC News chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl wrote. "Schumer's office wouldn't comment on the specifics of the conversation, telling me only, ‘Leader Schumer conveyed the views of his caucus.’"
The Senate majority leader's office issued a similar response obtained by Fox News Digital on Wednesday, but waved off ABC's report.
"Unless ABC’s source is Senator Chuck Schumer or President Joe Biden the reporting is idle speculation," a spokesperson for Sen. Schumer said. "Leader Schumer conveyed the views of his caucus directly to President Biden on Saturday."
The news comes as the New York Democrat pushed for the Democratic National Convention's delay as questions persist about President Biden's 2024 candidacy due to concerns over his mental acuity, according to multiple sources.
FOX News and The Associated Press contributed to this report.