Biden now being ‘receptive’ about possibility of giving up 2024 re-election campaign: new report

( NYPost )

President Biden is being “receptive” behind closed doors about the possibility of giving up his 2024 re-election campaign, according to a senior Democratic adviser.

The 81-year-old president, who tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday, has so far been adamant that he will remain in the race for the White House — despite repeated calls from Democrats for him to step aside in the wake of his train-wreck debate three weeks ago.

“He’s being receptive. Not as defiant as he is publicly,” one senior Democratic adviser told CNN late Wednesday.

“He’s gone from saying, ‘Kamala can’t win’ to ‘Do you think Kamala can win?'” the adviser continued. “It’s still unclear where he’s going to land but seems to be listening.”

The official added that Biden’s conversations about his future are still continuing in private with those on the Hill.

The Biden campaign, however, dismissed the claim that he was rethinking his re-election bid.

“If the facts matter — and they should — here is one: President Biden is the Democratic nominee and he is going to win this November,” said a Biden spokesman, Kevin Munoz.

It comes as several high-ranking Democrats – including ex-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer – are said to have held private talks with Biden in recent days amid intensifying calls for him to drop out.

Pelosi told Biden that current polling indicated he couldn’t beat former President Donald Trump and that him staying in the race could destroy Democrats’ chances of winning the House, multiple sources told CNN.

Schumer, too, had addressed the bleak polling numbers as he encouraged him to step aside during a meeting at Biden’s beach house in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, ABC News reported, citing a source familiar with their conversation.

Still, the reports that Biden is becoming more receptive to possibly stepping aside are in stark contrast to a “tense” Zoom call he had with dozens of moderate Democrats over the weekend where he was apparently dismissive of mounting concerns.

“The call was even worse than the debate. He was rambling; he’d start an answer then lose his train of thought, then would just say ‘whatever.’ He really couldn’t complete an answer. I lost a ton of respect for him,” one person on the call told Puck.

“The president was rambling, dismissive of concerns, unable or unprepared to present a campaign strategy,” added a second source, who is a member of Congress.

Despite publicly rejecting calls to step aside, Biden acknowledged Wednesday that he would consider dropping out if doctors diagnosed him with a “medical condition.” 

“IF I had some medical condition that emerged, if somebody, if doctors came to me and said, you got this problem and that problem,” Biden said in an BET interview taped Tuesday.

The admission marked the clearest indication yet that he could potentially be faltering in his vow to seek a second term.