Manchin was moments away from abandoning Biden on huge stage

President Joe Biden is facing a growing avalanche of calls to step aside as the Democratic presidential nominee, but Sen. Joe Manchin (I-WV) was reportedly almost at the forefront of those calls.

Manchin, a Biden critic who recently re-registered from Democrat to independent, was reportedly set to go on one of the Sunday political shows and break from Biden after the president’s poor debate performance, but he was convinced not to, according to a report from the Washington Post.

Senior Democrats heard what Manchin was planning to do and went all out to ensure the West Virginia senator did not abandon Biden, the outlet reported. One of the phone calls after Manchin had already pulled out of the idea was from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).

Manchin has not endorsed Biden, but he has also not endorsed former President Donald Trump, and he considered an independent presidential run of his own before opting not to do so.

Since Biden’s shaky debate performance last week, the president has received calls to step aside, but so far, only one member of Congress, Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), has called on him to do so. A Tuesday evening report from Reuters suggested that as many as 25 House Democrats may call for the president to step aside if Biden is unable to convince them otherwise.

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Biden, his allies, and most Democratic officials have been firm in proclaiming that the president will be the Democratic nominee in November despite growing concern and questions over Biden’s mental acuity and age.

Democrats are expected to nominate Biden virtually sometime before Aug. 7 to ensure he appears on ballots in all 50 states, ahead of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago from Aug. 19-22. The virtual nomination was planned weeks prior to the debate and has to do with the ballot deadlines for some states, such as Ohio.