Joe Biden tested positive for COVID Wednesday, forcing him to press pause on campaigning at the most fraught moment of his career in politics.

With his family supporting him, Biden has resisted pressure from his own party to end his re-election bid - as Democrats share doubts in public and in private that he can defeat Donald Trump.

The COVID diagnosis complicates his plans to campaign more aggressively and shed a weak, cloistered image.

Biden isolated....

The pressure began to build after Biden's disastrous debate performance last month.

After a brief respite following Donald Trump's attempted assassination, Democrats redoubled pressure this week for Biden to pass the torch.

The pressure campaign didn't stop when Biden tested positive for COVID with "mild symptoms" in Las Vegas on Wednesday.

Even as Biden returned home to hole up in Delaware, members of his own party continued to abandon him, and the liberal press churned with rumors that he was preparing to end his campaign.

According to reports, Barack Obama no longer thinks Biden is a viable candidate, and some of Biden's closest allies, such as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-Ny.) and Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Ca.), have urged Biden to quit.

The speculation about Biden's future has renewed the focus on Jill Biden, and what many see has her reluctance to relinquish power.

“For all the talk out there about this race, Joe has made it clear that he’s all in,” Jill Biden told a crowd earlier this month.

His family is FURIOUS

NBC reported Friday that the Biden family has started discussing the possible end of his campaign, but they are furious with the way Biden is being treated by his supposed friends.

“There was a much more dignified way to do this if this is what they wanted,” one Biden insider told the outlet. “This is no way to treat a public servant who has done a lot for this country.”

Of course, many see Joe Biden's personal pride as a factor as well. At least publicly, Biden has remained defiant.

He has said he will get back to campaigning next week. And he received an encouraging update from the White House doctor, who said his COVID symptoms were improving Friday.

A "loose, non­productive cough and hoarseness continue to be his primary symptoms, but they have improved meaningfully from yesterday," Dr. Kevin O'Connor said.