Anonymous sources reported on Thursday that President Joe Biden appeared ready to "withdraw from the presidential election as early as this weekend."

Key Details: After weeks of insisting he would stay in the race, Biden appeared to have changed his mind as private appeals and public calls have intensified among prominent Democratic politicians including Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) and Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and Barack Obama. Newsmax (Right bias) wrote decivisely that Biden had made the decision to drop out, and even that he planned not to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for the nomination, setting the stage for an open nomination process at the convention in August. As of this writing, the Newsmax report had not been confirmed by other sources. "Two Wall Street C-suite execs close to the Democratic Party tell me they believe @POTUS will announce he's not running as early as tomorrow," a Fox Business (Lean Right) reporter said on X Thursday.

How the Media Covered It: Newsmax described Biden as "embattled" and brought up concerns over the effect of his age on "his health and mental state." The New York Times (Lean Left) reported similar claims from sources close to Biden, but with less certainty, saying that "Democrats more distant from the White House" expressed "caution about reading signs from a president with an exceedingly small circle of confidants." Reuters (Center) mentioned his "shoddy" performance in his June 27 debate against Republican candidate Donald Trump. CNN (Lean Left) quoted a Democrat who said "this can't go on much longer." Headline updated 7/18/24 at 8:45pm ET for clarity around reports.