New York Sen. Chuck Schumer had a "blunt" private conversation with President Joe Biden over the weekend about the state of the presidential race, two sources familiar with the meeting told NBC News.
The Senate majority leader spoke with the president in private on Saturday at Biden's home in Rehoboth, Delaware, sources said. There was no other staff in the room at the time two spoke one on one.
According to the sources, Schumer presented the President with polling data that reflected the current state of the race and how that current state could impact the party going forward. Much of the recent public polling reflects that President Biden trails former President Trump in the race for the White House and that Trump leads in several key battleground states. While Trump is leading, much of the polling data remains in the margin of error.
The sources described the conversation between Biden and Schumer as "blunt," but would not state if Schumer directly called on Biden to consider dropping out of the race.
Spokespeople for the White House, the Biden Campaign and Majority Leader Schumer refused to entertain direct questions about if Schumer asked Biden to step aside, citing that it was a private meeting between the two longtime lawmakers.
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In a statement, a spokesperson for Schumer said that reports of the senator asking Biden to step aside on the 2024 ticket were "idle speculation. Leader Schumer conveyed the views of his caucus directly to President Biden on Saturday."
Word of the talk between the two comes after California Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff on Wednesday urged Biden to exit the 2024 presidential election contest.
Schiff in a statement said that he had "serious concerns about whether the President can defeat Donald Trump in November."
"While the choice to withdraw from the campaign is President Biden's alone, I believe it is time for him to pass the torch," said Schiff, the Democratic nominee for a U.S. Senate seat from California who is a strong favorite to win in November.
"And in doing so, secure his legacy of leadership by allowing us to defeat Donald Trump in the upcoming election," said Schiff, who is a close ally of Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the powerful California Democrat who previously served as House speaker.
Biden will now be sidelined from the campaign trail for some time after he tested positive for Covid-19 on Wednesday.
CNBC's Dan Mangan contributed to this report.
