“Donald Trump is ahead, but we can still beat him if we present ourselves in the election united with a new candidate,” Leon Panetta, the former head of the Pentagon and CIA under Obama, dictated this line in an interview with Republica. “There are very real concerns about the future role of the United States,” Panetta, who was Bill Clinton’s White House chief of staff, explained. Trump’s approach has generally been isolationist and alliance-averse. He has said he is willing to abandon Ukraine, but the problem is broader. He is abandoning American leadership at a very dangerous time for global stability.”

According to Panetta, Trump is now “in the lead, but we know that things can change very quickly in American politics. There are about four months left until the vote, and the question is whether Biden will stay or step aside. That is very real.” This possibility, under very strong pressure from the party leadership, if we present ourselves united behind a strong new ticket, led by Vice President Harris, or Michigan Governor Whitmer, or another candidate from the Midwest, while Trump will confirm the tendency to destroy himself. His own comments, the race could still be very close.

Should Joe Biden drop out? Panetta responds without much hesitation: “There’s no question that the party leadership, from former President Obama to congressional leaders Schumer and Jeffries, are pushing hard for that. What worries me is that we’re going into an election divided, and the best way to unite us is to do it with a new candidate.” So there is intense pressure from the top levels of Democrats to persuade the incumbent to take a step back. It’s a possibility he continues to deny publicly, even as there are dramatic stories about what he says privately.