The month of July has not been kind to President Joe Biden thus far.
While the minds behind Biden’s campaign may have hoped for the fallout from his disastrous late-June debate performance to subside, calls for the 81-year-old to step aside as the Democratic nominee in November’s election have only grown louder as the weeks have passed.
Murmurs of a potential “big announcement” in the coming days have lead to speculation that Biden may be giving into the pressure from his party to hand the baton off to another Democrat that’s perhaps better equipped to defeat former President Donald Trump.
This is what we know about Biden’s status in the presidential race as of Friday afternoon.
Biden’s campaign insists he’s staying in
President Biden has been clear in communications and in interviews: he says he will be the Democratic nominee in the 2024 election.
“Let me say this as clearly as I can: I’m the sitting President of the United States,” Biden said on X, formerly Twitter, on July 5. “I’m the nominee of the Democratic party. I’m staying in the race.”
As of Friday afternoon, Biden says he’ll resume campaigning to keep his spot in the White House next week, after he recovers from a bout with COVID-19.
While reports and speculation have risen about Biden’s “big announcement” over the weekend, there’s been no official communications to suggest that will take place, or if it would be to drop out of the race.
Democrats’ support for Biden is rapidly decreasing
At the same time as Biden’s public commitment to remain the Democratic nominee, he’s rapidly losing the support of his own party, both publicly and behind closed doors.
Just this week, California’s Democratic nominee for its open U.S. Senate seat, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank), became the party’s most prominent person to urge the President to step aside.
“There is only one singular goal: defeating Donald Trump,” Schiff told the Los Angeles Times. “The stakes are just too high.”
Other Democrats have said similar things — that the basis of the calls for Biden to drop out aren’t based on his policies or ability, but instead electability.
Among those to ask Biden to step aside are three sitting senators and more than two dozen representatives, according to the AP.
Others have reportedly expressed concerns in private, including former President Barack Obama, under whom Biden served as vice president. Former House Speaker and current U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) reportedly pointed to polling numbers suggesting that chances of a Biden victory are becoming slim.
Biden’s poll numbers are dwindling
While poll numbers showed a virtual dead-heat prior to the June debate, Trump is pulling ahead in many of the states that will be key to either candidate’s victory in November, according to new polling from Emerson College.
Those states include Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Georgia, North Carolina and Arizona — all states that Biden won in 2020 with exception to North Carolina. Those races don’t appear to be close either, with Trump maintaining at least a five-point lead in each.
While polling isn’t everything, those disparities are enough to frighten the Democratic party.
VP Kamala Harris would be the likely heir apparent
Part of the rampant speculation into Biden’s status has naturally led to an obvious follow-up question: Who should replace him on the ticket?
At first, the conversation centered around California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has taken a prominent role in Biden’s campaign and has toured the country in recent months. But Newsom has maintained his position that he will not be the nominee, and there are serious questions regarding his chances anyways, considering the states that Democrats need to secure in November.
Other names that have popped up include Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and former First Lady Michelle Obama, who has never indicated interest in returning to the White House.
Naturally, the speculation has led to VP Kamala Harris of California for the top spot. According to reporting from The Hill, she’s considered to be the “heir apparent” among Democratic leaders.
The Hill also reports that Newsom and Whitmer both said they wouldn’t consider a spot as Harris’s running mate if offered. The short list for that potential spot could include Sen. Mark Kelly, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper.