Biden’s household ‘begins discussing exit plan’ for 2024 race

President Joe Biden‘s family is starting to discuss an exit plan from the 2024 contest, a startling new report revealed on Friday, as one adviser insists Biden will be the nominee as even more Democrats called on him to exit the race.

It comes as one House Democrat close to Biden told DailyMail.com that he thinks worries about the election are finally getting through to the president: ‘I think it is and I’m going to leave it at that.’

Biden is increasingly isolated both physically and politically. His small circle of advisers – including wife Jill, sister Valerie Owens, and son Hunter – is growing even tighter as the family remains livid with some staff in the aftermath of the first presidential debate.

And they remain protective of Biden. The family wants an exit plan – if it comes to pass – to be on the president’s terms: done to ensure Donald Trump will lose in November and paying tribute to Biden’s more than 40 years of public service, NBC News reported.

Publicly, however, the Biden team repeated the president is in the race to win it even as lawmakers, donors and major Democratic officials say Biden, 81, can’t win.

Biden campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon told MSNBC’s Morning Joe:  ‘You have heard from the President directly time and again. He is in this race to win and he is our nominee and he’s going to be our president for a second term.’

There is turmoil behind the scenes however.

The Biden For President campaign is calling an all-staff meeting for Friday, the Associated Press reported.

And Democrats continue to push for Biden to step aside for an alternative nominee as the party fears his candidacy will cost them any chance of winning the House and keeping control of the Senate.

In the hours since Trump accepted the Republican presidential nomination on Thursday night in Milwaukee, another six Democrats have called on Biden to exit the contest. 

Rep. Sean Casten of Illinois became the first House Democrat on Friday morning to demand Biden drop out of the presidential race.  Casten is in a competitive district as he seeks re-election.

Four other Democratic lawmakers quickly joined Casten as the pressure campaign grows as grows with one member of Congress piling on after another.

‘It’s time to pass the torch,’ said Democratic Rep. Marc Pocan of Wisconsin. ‘

Then Democratic Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico became the third senator to call on Biden to step aside.

‘While the decision to withdraw from the campaign is President Biden’s alone, I believe it is in the best interest of our country for him to step aside,’ Heinrich said in a statement on Friday morning.

The mass of defections comes the morning after the party saw Republicans coalesce around Trump as their nominee, cheering him on Thursday night as he described the assassination attempt on his life. 

O’Malley Dillon brushed aside questions on whether Biden’s staying in the race will hurt Democrats down the ballot, saying the party has ‘extraordinary Democratic candidates on the ticket in battleground states and non battleground states.’

‘The President knows better than anyone how to run and win locally,’ she told the Morning Joe team.

She also argued Trump is ‘the same person he was in 2020.’

‘Donald Trump is at his peak with his numbers. There’s no There’s no new voter he’s bringing to the table. Right? So that’s an important kind of framing to remember. And we are about to head into our convention.’

She acknowledged the campaign has work to do to make up ground after Biden’s disastrous debate performance.

‘I’m not here to say that this hasn’t been a tough several weeks for the campaign. There’s no doubt that it has been and we’ve definitely seen some slippage in support, but it has been a small movement,’ she said.

‘The American people know that the President is older. They see that. They knew that before the debate. Yes, of course, we have a lot of work to do to make sure that we are reassuring the American people that yes, he’s old, but he can do the job and he can win.’

Meanwhile, White House spokesman Andrew Bates denied that any such exit discussions are happening amongst the family.

‘That is not happening, period,’ he told NBC News. ‘The individuals making those claims are not speaking for his family or his team — and they will be proven wrong. Keep the faith.’

Biden is holed up in his Rehoboth Beach house with wife Jill as he recovers from a bought of Covid.

The president himself, in a radio interview taped just before he tested positive, dismissed the idea it was too late for him to recover politically.

He told Univision’s Luis Sandoval that many people don’t focus on the November election until September.

‘All the talk about who’s leading and where and how, is kind of, you know — everything so far between Trump and me has been basically even,’ he said.

But, as he heals, the drumbeat of Democratic voices against him is growing louder.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, and Speaker Hakeem Jeffries all shared information about the tanking support for Biden on Capitol Hill and in the polls.

The White House has repeatedly denied Biden is leaving the race. Officials are moving ahead to plan his next round of meetings and events to show the campaign and his presidency are moving forward. 

Next week, Biden is expected to meet with Benjamin Netanyahu when the Israeli Prime Minister is in town to address a joint session of Congress. 

That meeting was originally scheduled for Monday but the White House said the date could be in flux depending on Biden’s recovery from COVID. 

Netanyahu speaks to lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.

‘We have every expectation that the two leaders will have a chance to see each other when Prime Minister Netanyahu is in town,’ White House spokesman John Kirby told reporters Thursday.

‘I can’t tell you at this point … what that exactly is going to look like. But as we get closer certainly be able to provide you some more,’ Kirby said. 

Biden is also scheduled to go on a fundraising swing for his campaign in the later part of the week, hitting up rich donors in Texas and California as he makes the case for his candidacy.