President Joe Biden could decided to pull out of the race to remain as US President within days, according to an insider.
Hawaii's governor, Governor Josh Green has been friends with the Biden family for years. Recently, he attended a meeting with other Democratic governors and has shared an insight into the current President's mindset after facing fierce backlash following a debate with opponent Donald Trump which many deemed disastrous.
Gov Green said that Biden would designate Vice President Kamala Harris to replace him on the ticket should he step away. "I think the president stays in this race unless he feels that it is not winnable, or he feels that he has to hear other voices in his inner circle that he shouldn't run," Green said. "If the president felt that he wasn't up to it and truly not up to it, he would step down.
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"We'll probably know in the next couple of days how the president feels about all this," he said. Questions about Biden's mental health and ability to continue as president have mired his campaign for 2024 re-election in which he is going up against Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump.
As some of his fellow Democrats have encouraged Biden to exit the campaign, the president has pointed to support from other elected officials in the party, particularly governors. Green says that Biden's age should not be a factor and that he should be respected for his wisdom, as older family members often are.
"That's why I'm standing by the president until he tells me otherwise," said Green. Green said the timeline of a few days for a decision anticipates pressure that might be placed on Biden after members of Congress return this week to Capitol Hill.
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"I really, honestly think that he has to make the decision. And it should not come from another governor. It should not come from anyone but the closest, closest advisers to him and his own heart," Green said.
Speaking of whether Harris would take over the running should Biden step away, Green said: "I think it's very clear that the Democratic Party would be ecstatic overall to have the president designate his vice president if it came to that.
Harris "is a powerful person, she is also a thought-leading woman, she's an African American who was (California's) attorney general," Green said. "There are no credentials that are better than what the current vice president has."
Green also provided insight into last week's meeting that governors had with the president. During the meeting, Green asked Biden about his health. Biden responded by saying everything was fine except for his brain.
Green said that the president was joking, and that context was lost when leaked by other people. "It was absolutely a joke, and in order to make a self-deprecating joke, you have to have intact cognitive function, period," Green said.
