Biden 'is in denial about having to withdraw from 2024 race' - as insiders share details of another gaffe that's frightened donors

Joe Biden is said to be in 'denial' about having to withdraw from the presidential election following his dismal debate performance last week, as some of his campaign donors become ever more worried about his mental acuity.

The 81-year-old commander-in-chief has insisted he is staying in the race amid calls from members of his own party to step aside and hand the reins over to a younger Democrat.

But even those who are publicly vouching for Biden have admitted in private that there is no path forward with him at the top of the ticket, according to the Washington Post.

A donor adviser has now estimated that 'for every 10 people who think he should exit, one thinks he should stay.'

Others have suggested that even Biden knows on some level that he is doomed. 

'I think he's focused on recovering,' one person who spoke with the president on the Fourth of July told the Post. 

'But I personally think he's still in the denial phase of grief.'

For five days after the debate, the president had only given 32 minutes of combined public comments - all of which were scripted.

At one of those appearances, at a $100million East Hampton mansion, donors were left stunned when Biden described a French cemetery in Normandy as 'Italian,' insiders said.

He then only spoke for six minutes before leaving without taking any questions.

When Biden then made an appearance at the New Jersey governor's private villa, sources said he spoke so softly that a crowd of 50 people had to crane their necks to hear him speak from a teleprompter. 

By Monday, those familiar with internal Democratic Party conversations say things started to turn - as members of his own party started to call for him to exit the race.

'Everyone lost confidence by Monday,' an unidentified Democratic member of Congress told the Post.

'I started hearing from donors, members, everyone on Monday. It was only getting worse.'

Some independent Democratic strategists even built up plans to build up Vice President Kamala Harris, the Post reports. 

But Biden's campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez has been texting lawmakers and administration officials, encouraging them not to go public with their concerns about the president's electability, according to the Associated Press.

The campaign has also noted that this past week saw the best grassroots fundraising than the start of any other month during the campaign.

Still, Virginia Sen. Mark Warner is leading Democrats in the upper chamber to push to oust Biden as the presidential nominee in favor of a younger candidate.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is also assembling top Democrats to discuss the matter in a Zoom meeting on Sunday, Politico reports. 

As of Saturday, five sitting Democrats have called for Biden to withdraw from the race -  with another 13 members of Congress and governors expressing their concerns, according to a tally by the Washington Post.

Minnesota Rep. Angie Craig - who is fighting to retain her seat in the battleground state - was the latest to speak up, following his one-on-one interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos on Friday.

'There is only a small window left to make sure we have a candidate best equipped to make the case and win,' she told the Post.

'Given what I saw and heard from the President during last week's debate in Atlanta, coupled with the lack of a forceful response from the President himself following that debate, I do not believe that the President can effectively campaign and win against Donald Trump.'

Another Democratic lawmaker who previously endorsed Biden also told NBC they will be breaking their silence on Biden's fate 'soon'. 

'It made me sad,' the politician said of the interview. 'Completely out of touch with reality and insulated from [the] truth.' 

It is believed First Lady Jill Biden has been encouraging her husband to stay in the race.

She has made a call to Vogue magazine insisting he will continue to fight for the White House. 

'[We] will not let those 90 minutes define the four years [Joe's] been president. We will continue to fight,' Jill, 73, told the magazine in an interview out later this week.

One source has also claimed the First Lady 'has [the] ultimate influence' on her husband.

'If she decides there should be a change of course, there will be a change of course.

'The decision-makers are two people — it's the president and his wife,' the source added.

'Anyone who doesn't understand how deeply personal and familial this decision will be isn't knowledgeable about the situation.'