Long-serving aides to US President Joe Biden are plotting how to persuade him to step down from the presidential race over concerns about his age, according to a report.
At least two close allies of Mr Biden, 81, have become convinced that he will not be able to run a successful re-election campaign, the New York Times reported.
It follows a disastrous debate performance against Mr Biden’s likely Republican challenger Donald Trump last month, during which the President lost his train of thought and gave rambling answers.
Senior Democrats have withdrawn their support for Mr Biden in recent weeks and have urged him to make way for a new candidate.
Actor George Clooney on Wednesday urged Mr Biden to withdraw from the race, saying he was “not the same person” that beat Mr Trump in 2020.
A small group of Mr Biden’s closest advisors are mulling how to make the case to the president that he should step down and appoint another presidential candidate, the Times reported.
Citing three aides briefed on the matter, the newspaper said that the advisors were conscious that they would need to convince Mr Biden that the process to replace him would not be chaotic.
Mr Biden is said to be unaware of the discussions.
The White House denied the account, branding the claims made by the newspaper “not true”.
“President Biden’s team is strongly behind him,” a White House spokesperson said.
Mr Biden on Monday called for an “end” to speculation over whether he would step down as Democratic nominee.
In a two-page letter addressed to Democrats, Mr Biden urged the party to focus on defeating Mr Trump in the November election.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday insisted Mr Biden was not senile and had been on “good form” at the Nato summit in Washington DC.
Sir Keir, who met the president for their first bilateral talks at the White House on Wednesday as Nato leaders gathered in Washington to discuss the challenges facing the bloc, said Mr Biden had been “across all the detail”.
The Prime Minister told broadcasters their one-to-one discussions had happened “at pace” and Mr Biden seemed “on really good form”.
“We were billed for 45 minutes, we went on for the best part of an hour,” he said.
“He was absolutely across all the detail. We were going at pace through a number of issues.”
