Pelosi and Obama add to doubts over Biden

What happened

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and former President Barack Obama have both raised serious concerns that President Joe Biden will not be able to defeat Donald Trump in the coming election, insiders claim. In recent conversations with Biden and his allies, the Democratic powerhouses reportedly said the president should reconsider his reelection campaign. 

Who said what

Pelosi told Biden directly that she was "pessimistic about his chances" of an electoral victory, said The New York Times. Sources said the speaker emerita, regarded as one of the Democrats' most savvy political operators, pointed to polling that suggests Biden could not win. A Pelosi spokesperson told CNN that the press "feeding frenzy" based on unnamed sources "misrepresents many conversations" that the former speaker "may have had with the president." 

Obama, under whom Biden served as vice president, has also told allies that the president's "path to victory has greatly diminished" and that he should "seriously consider the viability of his campaign," The Washington Post said. A spokesperson for Obama declined to comment. 

What next?

Pelosi may yet press Biden publicly to drop out of the race, an ally said to Politico. Although Pelosi "does not want to call on him to resign," the former speaker will "do everything in her power to make sure it happens," the source said. 

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