Reports Suggest Biden Has Lost Obama, Too

The biggest name of all among Democrats has been added to the list of those expressing doubts about President Biden's candidacy—Barack Obama. On Thursday, two outlets reported that the former president has aired his concerns to allies, though not necessarily to the president himself. The wording is nuanced:

• Washington Post: Obama "has told allies in recent days that President Biden's path to victory has greatly diminished and he thinks the president needs to seriously consider the viability of his candidacy, according to multiple people briefed on his thinking." Read the full story.
• Associated Press: Obama "has privately expressed concerns to Democrats about President Joe Biden's candidacy," reads the AP story.

• Adding up: The reports on Obama follow similar ones about Democratic power-brokers including Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, and Hakeem Jeffries. "The walls are closing in," is how Politico Playbook summed things up. Details on that here.
• This weekend? To be clear, none of the big four mentioned above have publicly called on Biden to withdraw, but none have publicly come to the president's defense to shoot down the speculation, either. Axios reports that "top Democrats" now expect Biden to exit as soon as this weekend.
• Obama: The Post reports that Obama has been careful to tell confidantes that the decision is Biden's to make but that he is concerned Biden, whom he considers a great president, will put his first-term accomplishments at risk if Republicans take control of the House and Senate.

(More Barack Obama stories.)