Will Biden quit US presidential race? What are Democrats saying and what do the polls suggest?

A civil war-like situation is brewing within the Democrat ranks where voters as well as leaders are no longer in favour of incumbent United States PresidentJoe Biden continuing his re-election bid. According to a new Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll, nearly two-thirds ofMassachusetts Democrats and left-leaning voters want a nominee other than Biden to take on his Republican rival Donald Trump in November's election.

While GOP lawmakers have uniformly embraced Trump with MAGA voters more united than ever after the failed assassination bid against the former president, the Democrats continue to wait anxiously about the future of their presidential nominee.

Nearly 69per cent of Republican-leaning voters said they are satisfied with Trump as the party’s nominee.On the other hand, only 29 per cent of Democrat and Democratic-leaning voters are in favour of Biden. 64 per cent said they would prefer if the party put forward someone else.

What is Biden saying?

Biden said he would only consider dropping out of the race if a doctor told him directly that he had a medical condition that made that necessary.

“If I had some medical condition that emerged, if somebody, if doctors came to me and said, you got this problem and that problem,” Biden said in a recentinterview.

The US presidentconceded that he “made a serious mistake in the whole debate” and would re-evaluate his decision if one of his doctors changed their assessment of him.

What are Biden'speers saying?

Former president Barack Obama, who steadfastly supported Bidenduring his term, hasalso now told allies that his once running mateneeded to reconsider his re-election bid, according to news agencyAFP.

Obama is of the view that there was no path to victory for the 81-year-old whoshould "seriously consider the viability of his candidacy".

Meanwhile, former House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, earlier this week held a private conversation with Biden where she told the president that he could not beat Trump, come the November elections.

Similarly, Representative Adam Schiff, a key ally from California, urged the incumbent presidentto “pass the torch”. Schiff became the first Democrat leader to publically urge Biden to step aside since the failed assassination attempt against Trump.

“A second Trump presidency will undermine the very foundation of our democracy, and I have serious concerns about whether the President can defeat Donald Trump in November,” Schiff said.

If Biden does step down, Democrats are pinning their hopes on Vice President Kamala Harris to take the fight to Trump.

(With inputs from agencies)