Today is Thursday, July 18, 2024. Three weeks since the disastrous presidential debate went down, there has been more of a clamor to have President Joe Biden step down as the presumptive Democratic candidate for president. An online CNN article by MJ Lee, Jeff Zeleny, Kayla Tausche, and Jamie Gangel details the effort to have Biden drop out of the race in “Many senior Biden officials believe he must drop out as he becomes increasingly isolated.”

As a result of his terrible debate performance, Biden is seen as being more isolated than he has ever been, with many senior-ranking White House and campaign officials now privately believing that he must abandon his campaign for a second term – and soon.

One Democratic governor in close touch with party officials relayed to aides today, “The next 72 hours are big. This can’t go on much longer.”

“In interviews with CNN, more than two dozen sources familiar with the dynamics inside the West Wing and campaign said there is now widespread acceptance that Biden remaining in the 2024 race is wholly untenable.”

One senior Democrat offered this, “Everyone is saying it privately. People see the walls closing in.”

Another top Democrat close to the White House described Biden as having become “exceptionally insulated and isolated” since the CNN presidential debate on June 27. Multiple sources said some of the most senior advisers to Biden – including adviser Anita Dunn, attorney Bob Bauer, and campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon – faced the ire of the president’s family in the aftermath of the debate.

Multiple sources also told CNN that the president’s recent response to bad polls has been to cast doubt on whether there is anybody else who would perform stronger than him. Meanwhile, meetings and phone calls with anyone that might come bearing bad news appear to have paused – for now.

The phones just kind of stopped ringing,” is how one senior Democrat put it.

And in a meeting with top House Democrat Hakeem Jeffries, Biden aggressively challenged the notion that Jeffries’ colleagues wanted him to step aside, according to a source briefed on the discussion.

As Biden spent today out of sight, recovering from COVID-19 at his beach house in Delaware, he has been described by those who have spoken to him as being “receptive” to arguments to step away from his reelection bid, a senior Democratic adviser told CNN.

It is reported that the president is in a “contemplative stage” as he isolates in Rehoboth Beach. A source familiar with the president’s mindset said that he is “thinking things through” and “deliberating” about how to proceed with his reelection campaign while he’s in isolation. He has privately acknowledged to others that there is a limited path, given all the unfavorable data, the source said.

But this decision to step aside will not come before the weekend, according to the source, which makes it an open question – frustratingly so, in the eyes of many Democrats – whether Biden has come to any new decisions about his future.

With Biden’s political future on the brink, the White House is fielding a steady stream of letters, telephone calls, and messages from Americans, too, like this one from Democratic voters Terri and John Hale.

The Hales, retirees from Ankeny, Iowa, write, “It’s with utmost respect that we offer this conclusion – you cannot win this race.” In a letter to the White House obtained by CNN, the Hales go on to write, “Not because you are not the better man, but because the public – rightly or wrongly – now sees your age and perceived limitations as the main issue in the campaign.”

If the drumbeat of criticism directed toward Biden gets any louder, it would seem that there is only one thing to do: concede the race to a more winnable candidate who can whip Trump’s ass without even trying. And we need to do this now, not later! We can’t let Dump gain any new ground. He’s already basking in the glow of being perceived as an almost-martyr during that supposed assassination attempt last Saturday. Democrats must not take off the kid gloves when dealing with this existential threat to democracy. They must pounce with all their might during these last few months of the campaign. And they must stand unified behind one candidate, whoever that might be!

Stay safe and be well.