Republican strategist Karl Rove suggested Friday that President Biden may step aside before November, saying his campaign is “bleeding out in front of us” following a poor debate showing last week.
“That situation has deteriorated, and who thinks that’s going to turn around?” he said in an interview with Fox News’s “America Reports.” “It’s not.”
Rove added that he thinks most people don’t want to vote for Biden anymore, and if the Democratic Party wants to stick with the incumbent as its nominee, it would be throwing the election away.
“I bet you that he is gone,” Rove told guest host Alicia Acuna. “His campaign is bleeding out in front of us, and it’s going to end and end shortly.”
Rove, who served as a senior adviser and deputy chief of staff to former President George W. Bush, pointed to polling that showed Republicans generally feel somewhat excited about voting for former President Trump, but very few Democrats say they’re looking forward to casting their ballots for Biden.
“We’ve seen polls over the last year and a half that, before the debate, said the American people had deep concerns that he was not ready to serve another four years,” Rove said.
The president’s debate performance last week sparked widespread panic among Democrats about not only Biden’s ability to beat Trump this fall, but also his ability to execute the role of president for another term.
Since then, there have been many calls for him to drop out of the race and allow another candidate to take on Trump. Biden and his team, however, have insisted he is “not going anywhere.”
In his first major rally since the calls began, Biden forcefully declared Friday that he’s staying in the race. He’s also met with Democratic governors in an attempt to earn their backing, many of whom obliged.
Biden’s first postdebate interview airs Friday night in what is largely being seen as a make-or-break moment to salvage his campaign.