Biden’s advisers are trying to convince him to give up his candidacy

A group made up of some of the advisers and collaborators of US President Joe Biden is looking for formulas to convince him that the best option is for him to step aside and have another Democratic candidate compete with Donald Trump in the November elections, according to The New York Times.

Among them, according to the prestigious newspaper on Thursday, citing three people familiar with the matter, are some of his allies with years of service working for the president.

The outlet claims that this group includes at least two advisers who have been exploring for days ways to get the president to give up his attempt to remain in the White House and accept Vice President Kamala Harris as his next candidate.

However, according to The New York Times, these people do not belong to the immediate circle of the US president, even though they are in favour of his continuing in the electoral battle.

The paper also notes that Biden told confidants before the June 27 debate – in which he had a questionable participation that led to a barrage of criticism – that he believed he had a better chance of winning a second term than Harris herself.

More than two-thirds of Americans, and 54% of Democratic voters, believe Biden should withdraw from the campaign ahead of the November elections, according to a poll released Thursday.

According to the Times’ sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the group is also expected to assure Biden that if he steps aside, the process for choosing another candidate would be “orderly” and would not lead to “chaos” within the Democratic Party.

There is no indication that any of these internal discussions have reached Biden himself yet, one of the sources told the paper, while the White House has denied most of them.

“There is no doubt that this is not true. President Biden’s team stands firmly behind him,” White House spokesman Andrew Bates told the newspaper.