What’s really 'fueling' Biden’s 'determination' to stay in race: former aides

21 July 2024

A slew of Democratic lawmakers this weekend called on President Joe Biden to drop his reelection bid, including close allies to former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), as well as Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Jon Tester (D-MT), who are both up for reelection.

Although Axios reported earlier this week that some top Democrats "privately" said "rising pressure of party congressional leaders and close friends will persuade President Biden to decide to drop out of the presidential race, as soon as this weekend," the news outlet is now reporting that the president's "lingering regret and anger from when Democrats pushed him not to run in 2016 is fueling his determination to stay in the race in 2024," according to former Biden aides.

Per the report, because "many" former President Barack Obama advisers pressuredBiden to not run in 2016," the president's "resentment over that episode has diminished Obama's influence with Biden as the president" decides his next steps.

Additionally, Axios reports, When Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton in 2016, Biden felt guilty for not running himself and furious at the people who pushed him not to. He thought he could have beaten Trump in 2016, according to people who spoke with him afterward.

One Biden ally earlier this week told The Hill, "If anything, he has to remain defiant in this moment to make it clear that he’s the nominee and he is pushing forward to defeat Trump. Anything else would be seen as weak and it would lead to even more chaos."

Axios also notes that "Biden's core team often tunes out their skeptics after winning the 2020 nomination and the better than expected 2022 midterms, far better than Obama did in his first midterms."

Axios' full report is available at this link. The Hill's report is here.

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