Biden ‘considers resigning and has indicated to his advisers what would prompt him to do so’ as he could drop out of 2024 race as early as next week

Joe Biden has told his advisers that he may have to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race — and what could be behind that decision as early as next week.

Allies who spoke to The New York Times said the 81-year-old acknowledged that three appearances planned for this weekend would make or break his re-election campaign.

These include an interview with ABC on Friday night and campaign stops in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, not to mention a campaign call on Wednesday in which he reportedly told campaign staff: “Nobody is pushing me out.”

An ally told the New York Times: “He knows that if he has two more events like this (the debate), we’ll be in a different situation.”

All of these elements are seen as crucial after last Thursday’s disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump, which reinforced calls from other Democrats for Biden to step down.

White House advisers have denied claims by The New York Times that an exit plan was discussed.

The testimony is the first indication that the president is wondering whether he can recover from his disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump.

His family – including his wife Jill and his son Hunter, a former drug addict – are among the allies who reportedly pushed hardest for him to stay in the White House.

But despite the tough talk, Biden has reportedly privately conceded that he may have to bow to a younger Democratic candidate to take on the rising Trump.

On Wednesday, Biden assured his campaign team in a call that despite growing calls for his resignation, he remains in the race for the 2024 presidency.

He said: “Let me say it as clearly as possible, as simply and directly as possible: I’m running, nobody’s stopping me from leaving.

“I’m not leaving. I’m in this race until the end and we’re going to win.”

“If the New York Times had given us more than 7 minutes to comment, we would have told them so.”

Later Wednesday night, Biden met with 20 Democratic governors at the White House to assure them he was fit to run.

Subsequently, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she and her colleagues unanimously supported Biden’s re-election bid.

But she has since been accused of lying by an anonymous Democratic source who told The New York Times that there was far more ongoing discontent about Biden’s performance and abilities among governors than Hochul let on.

Senior advisers told The Associated Press they believe Biden has just days to make a convincing case for his fitness for office before his party panic takes hold, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss strategy more freely.

White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre also told reporters during her briefing Wednesday that Biden was not preparing to drop out of the race.

Jean-Pierre spent nearly an hour being questioned about the president’s health and confirmed that although he still had a cold, he had not seen a doctor.

Jean-Pierre said “jet lag” from his two consecutive international trips 12 days before the debate contributed to the president’s poor performance.

She also confirmed that Biden had not had a medical exam since February.

Biden himself admitted that he nearly fell asleep on stage at a fundraiser in the upscale suburb of McLean, Virginia, on Tuesday night.

He told the crowd it was “not very smart” to have “traveled around the world several times” before his televised clash with former President Donald Trump.

Biden made two consecutive trips to France to celebrate the anniversary of D-Day and then to Italy for the G7 in June.

Upon his return, the president took a vacation at his vacation home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

Biden then spent a full week at the Camp David presidential retreat to rest and prepare for the debate.

The New York Times reported Tuesday that Biden was so exhausted from the jet trip that his advisers cut debate preparation short by two days — so he could plan a trip to the beach.

At Camp David, debate preparation did not begin until 11 a.m., and Biden had time each afternoon to take a nap.

The president made clear at his campaign event Tuesday that his trip was “not an excuse but an explanation.”

Meanwhile, incumbent Democrats have called on President Biden to withdraw from the presidential race, dealing a fresh blow to the campaign as defectors mount against him.

Raul Grijalva, 76, an Arizona Democrat, urged Biden not to run again, The New York Times reported Wednesday. He is the second sitting Democrat to call for the president to step down.

Two other House Democrats have openly said they believe former President Donald Trump will beat Biden — and that lack of confidence is sure to be a topic of conversation among party leaders scheduled for tonight.

“If he is a candidate, I will support him, but I think it is an opportunity to look elsewhere,” Grijalva said.

“What he needs to do is take responsibility for keeping that seat – and part of that responsibility is to withdraw from this race.”

Biden hosts the annual Independence Day party at the White House on Thursday and travels to Madison, Wisconsin, on Friday, where he will speak with ABC News for his first post-debate interview.

The president will then travel to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Sunday for a campaign stop.

Wisconsin and Pennsylvania are both key states that will help determine the outcome of the 2024 race.

In those states and five other battlegrounds, Trump leads in polls after their debate in Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday, June 27.

Since the debate, Biden and his team have engaged in extensive damage control and sought to reassure party members, staff, lawmakers, donors, allies and voters that Biden is still a viable candidate who can beat Trump again.

But many in the party are looking for other options, mulling candidates like Vice President Kamala Harris, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

No candidate is in a position to beat Trump in national polls and in key states, and all are behind Biden in his chances of winning against the former president.