As Joe Biden's position as the Democratic nominee continues to degrade, the Democratic leadership in the House and Senate are still publicly backing the president. But Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's (D-N.Y.) private thoughts are far different.
Axios reports that Schumer is privately signaling to major donors that he's open to backing a Democratic ticket without Biden. Schumer is one of three Democrats in the country who could convince Biden to exit the race if he goes public with his doubts. The other two are Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi.
The former speaker has already sent a strong signal that Biden needs to go. When MSNBC's Jonathan Lemire asked her whether she still supported Biden, she said it was "up to the president to decide if he is going to run" and that she wanted him to "do whatever he decides to do."
Obama's advocacy for Biden leaving is happening surreptitiously, according to PJ Media's Matt Margolis. The relationship between Biden and Obama is strained, but Biden respects Obama's opinion on political matters and has called him often for advice in that sphere. A public word from the most popular Democrat in the country would be hard to deny.
Biden likes and respects Chuck Schumer. Both men are creatures of the Senate and speak the same language when it comes to politics. If Schumer goes public with his views on Biden's continuing in the race, it will be very hard for Biden to resist the majority leader's advice.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is privately signaling to donors that he's open to a Democratic presidential ticket that isn't led by President Biden, Axios has learned.
In public, Schumer has been insistent that he is "for Joe." In private, he's singing a different tune.
Over the last 12 days, Schumer has been listening to donors' ideas and suggestions about the best way forward for the party, according to three people familiar with the matter.
The majority leader is one of several Democrats, including former President Obama and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has the political and personal standing to convince Biden to step aside. Even so, Biden can still dig in and the delegates are pledged to him.
National Democrats are well and truly stuck. Unless prominent Democrats like Schumer and Obama tell Biden face-to-face that the party doesn't want him and he will almost certainly lose if he runs, Biden will dig in his heels and stay in the race.
On the other side of the Capitol, Democratic House leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) has so far not taken sides as nine Democratic members of Congress have publicly called for Biden to step aside.
“We are continuing to have candid, clear-eyed, and comprehensive conversations with the House Democratic Caucus throughout the week, and that is the focus of our activity today, tomorrow, and we’ll see where we go from there,” Jeffries told reporters on Wednesday.
Neither Schumer nor Jeffries is publicly or privately pushing members one way or the other.
“I don’t think anybody is pushing anybody,” Sen. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.), told Semafor. “I haven’t heard of anyone being pushed at all.”
“Leadership has really taken this approach of: we’re here to listen, and we’re here to take back your feedback to the president, but they’re not pushing one way or the other,” Rep. Norma Torres (D-Calif.) told Semafor.
That's fine for now. But eventually, leaders have to lead. And if Biden remains stubborn in his belief that he can win despite all evidence to the contrary, Jeffries and Schumer are going to have to crack the whip and try and keep the party united no matter what Biden decides.
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