President Joe Biden is finally warming up to the idea that he may not be the Democrat nominee for the 2024 presidential election, according to reports on CNN and The New York Times.

Since his disastrous debate performance and subsequent press conferences, Joe Biden has been under immense pressure to drop out of the presidential election. Hollywood superstar George Clooney and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) have all called on the president to withdraw from the race. 

Reports also showed that former House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) have privately told Biden that they don’t think he can beat former President Donald Trump. Biden, however, refused to drop out, with the president remaining defiant in the face of brewing civil war in his party. 

However, latest reports on The Times and CNN show Biden is now receptive to dropping out of the race. Multiple Democratic officials told CNN that the president is not as adamant as he was when calls for his ouster first began.

“The private conversations with the Hill are continuing,” one senior Democratic adviser told CNN. “He’s being receptive. Not as defiant as he is publicly.”

The Democrat adviser, who spoke anonymously to avoid alienating the campaign and the White House, revealed that the president is considering Vice President Kamala Harris as his replacement.

“He’s being receptive. Not as defiant as he is publicly. He’s gone from saying, ‘Kamala can’t win,’ to ‘Do you think Kamala can win?’ It’s still unclear where he’s going to land, but seems to be listening,” the adviser said. 

The Times report showed that while Biden has shown no indication he would drop out, the president is open to listening to polling data.

However, a source close to Biden insisted that it would be wrong to think the president is receptive to the idea of dropping out of the race. The source said that while Biden was willing to listen to arguments on why he should withdraw, there were no signs he’s willing to withdraw. 

The report comes after Schumer and House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) held a meeting with Joe Biden. According to The Times, they discussed their party’s concern with the president. Both Democrat leaders were, however, left frustrated when it appeared that Joe Biden was not listening to their appeals.