As the list of Democrats in Congress calling for President Joe Biden to end his reelection bid grows, some long-time Democratic donors are joining efforts to urge the president to end his campaign.
One of those donors is Whitney Tilson, and he explained to Scripps News that rumors casting doubt on President Biden's political future are continuing to spread throughout the party.
"Multiple people I trust have said that he is 90% likely to drop out," Tilson said. "Perhaps as soon as this weekend."
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It's undoubtedly been a rough month for President Biden following his COVID-19 diagnosis, a lackluster debate performance against former President Donald Trump, and multiple verbal stumbles — including introducing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as "President Putin," and mistakenly referring to Vice President Kamala Harris as "Vice President Trump."
President Biden is still trying to move forward as he navigates the fallout, repeatedly making it clear his intention is to stay in the presidential race amid growing concerns within his own party. But Tilson says all of the recent blunders are "setting it up for him to step aside."
"There's just extreme urgency here and Biden has basically no support left anywhere — almost anywhere — in the Democratic Party right now," Tilson added.
His comments come a week after The New York Times reported that Democratic donors told the largest pro-Biden super PAC, Future Forward, they would withhold $90 million in donations unless the president ended his campaign.
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However, even if President Biden does drop out of the race, what happens next is not going to be easy for Democrats. There will be questions over whether the nomination should automatically go to Vice President Kamala Harris, or if other Democrats such as California Gov. Gavin Newsom or Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer should vie for the nomination.
"Whoever the nominee is needs to have two characteristics," Tilson said. "Number one: the best shot at beating Trump. Not just by a little, but hopefully by a lot — carrying the House and Senate on his or her coattails. And then number two: being a great president. Kamala Harris may well be that person, but she needs to go out and prove it and earn it and demonstrate that to the American people."
