Virginia Sen. Mark Warner is trying to gather a group of Democratic senators to ask Joe Biden to bow out of this year’s presidential race, according to reports from the Washington Post.
Sen. Warner believes President Biden isn’t fit to stay in the presidential race following his debate performance against former president Donald Trump last Thursday, according to the Post. The publication cited anonymous sources who are “familiar with private conversations” regarding the matter.
Watch: Debates, rallies, and why Virginia is in play this presidential election
A spokesperson for Sen. Warner did not confirm or deny the rumor when the Post reached out. Like many other people in Washington and across the country, Senator Warner believes these are critical days for the president’s campaign, and he has made that clear to the White House,” the spokesperson shared in a statement to WaPo.
After last week’s debate – the first between Biden and Trump since they both announced their 2024 presidential bids – many experts noted that the current president’s shaky performance could deter voters and cause trouble for Democrats.
"There's a lot of states [Biden] can lose now after tonight," political commentator and former MSNBC anchor Chris Matthews told Scripps News. "There's a lot of states in play now if you're a Republican strategist."
Watch: Key moments from Presidential Debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump
"[President Biden] loves his country," CNN political commentator Van Jones said. "He’s doing the best that he can. But he had a test to meet tonight to restore confidence of the country and of the base. And he failed to do that."
Biden himself acknowledged his debate performance.
“I don’t debate as well as I used to,” he said at a North Carolina rally last Friday.
However, as of Friday afternoon, he’s given no indication he’ll drop out of the race.
“I’m in this race to the end and we’re going to win because when Democrats unite, we will always win. Just as we beat Donald Trump in 2020, we’re going to beat him again in 2024,” Biden reportedly told his campaign staff Wednesday.
Watch: Fact-checking claims made by Biden and Trump during the first 2024 presidential debate
As of this writing, Biden and Trump are the presumed Democratic and Republican nominees, respectively.
