Joe Biden is reportedly angry with Barack Obama for joining other top Democrats in calling for him to bow out of the US presidential race.
The US president has not yet decided to step aside, with his team publicly insisting he will remain on the ticket. However, privately, the Biden team has acknowledged that his candidacy may be untenable amid a growing number of Democrats urging him to withdraw, according to the New York Times.
Mr Obama, the former president, and Senator Nancy Pelosi have been among those calling for Mr Biden to withdraw from the race, as Mr Biden’s cognitive faculties have come under increasing scrutiny.
Mr Biden, currently in isolation with a Covid infection at his beach home in Delaware, is said to view Ms Pelosi as the instigator of the plot to oust him but is particularly wounded by the involvement of Mr Obama, whom he once considered a close friend.
Mr Biden’s advisers reportedly believe the president would be reluctant to step aside before Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, visits Washington on Wednesday to address Congress. They believe he would want to avoid giving the Israeli leader the satisfaction, given their fraught relationship over the Gaza war.
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