Schumer, Pelosi ramp up pressure on Biden over 2024 election bid: Reports

Reports came as the US president announced contracting COVID-19 and went into self-isolation at his Delaware home.

Top Democratic leaders in the United States including Chuck Schumer, Hakeem Jeffries and Nancy Pelosi have expressed concerns to President Joe Biden over his ability to win the presidential election in November, according to media reports.

Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader, and Jeffries, the House Democratic leader, told Biden, who is 81 years old, in separate meetings to drop out of the presidential race, the ABC News broadcaster reported on Wednesday.

Schumer made the appeal during a “blunt conversation” with the president in Delaware on Saturday, “making the case it would be best if Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race,” the ABC said, citing a knowledgeable source close to both men.

Hakeem has also expressed similar views directly to Biden, suggesting he should drop out of the race, ABC said, citing a source familiar with the matter.

Pelosi, the former House speaker, was meanwhile reported to have told Biden in a recent telephone call that polling indicates he cannot defeat his challenger, Donald Trump and could even destroy the Democrats’ chance of winning the House in November if he continues seeking a second term, according to the CNN broadcaster.