President Joe Biden still seems to think that he can beat former President Donald Trump in the upcoming presidential election. 

This is raising more questions about Biden's withdrawal from the race.

According to a report from the New York Times, Biden - at the time that he withdrew - believed that he could still beat Trump, and the report indicates that Biden, to this day, still believes this.

This raises the question: why exactly did he drop out? The report also lends credence to the view that Biden was forced out by Democratic Party leaders in a virtual "coup."

The latest

The Times' report essentially tries to explain how it is that Biden came to the decision to withdraw from the 2024 presidential election.

The Times writes:

Despite everything, Mr. Biden believed he could still claim the Democratic nomination and beat former President Donald J. Trump. Aides say that he still believes that.

The obvious question, then, is why did Biden drop out of the race, and the Times, in the remainder of its report, tries to answer this question.

Per the outlet:

What began to change the president’s mind, people familiar with his thinking say, was the realization that if he stayed in the race, he was in for a lonely battle that would rip apart the Democratic Party, the cause he had served nearly his entire life.

The battle was "lonely" because, by that time, Democratic Party leadership had turned against him - or, at least, against his reelection campaign.

More details

There has been much debate about just how voluntary was Biden's decision to not seek reelection. The Times, in its report, tries to make it look as though it was Biden's voluntary decision. But, other reporting suggests otherwise.

The Daily Mail, for example, recently published a report explaining U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi's (D-CA) role in Biden's withdrawal.

Per the outlet:

As Biden nursed his COVID infection that fateful Saturday, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sent an urgent message to the president: She was prepared to go public with her concerns that he could not defeat Donald Trump in November. The ultimatum was clear: Drop out now – or Pelosi trashes her political ally, and friend of over 50 years, on the global stage.

Politico has also published a report indicating that Biden "harbors lingering frustration" at not only Pelosi but at former President Barack Obama for his withdrawal.

The bottom line is that it would appear that Biden was left with no other option but to withdraw, which argues against the idea that his withdrawal was voluntary.