Sources tell Axios' Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen that Democratic party leaders and close friends of Joe Biden will convince him to bail out of the presidential contest as soon as this weekend.

According to the report, Biden's defiance is strictly for public consumption. In private "he's resigned to mounting pressure, bad polls, and untenable scrutiny making it impossible to continue his campaign, the Democrats tell us."

Behind the scenes: The private message, distilled to its bluntest form: The top leaders of his party, his friends and key donors believe he can't win, can't change public perceptions of his age and acuity, and can't deliver congressional majorities.

• The president is being told that if he stays in, former President Trump could win in a landslide and wipe away Biden's legacy and Democrats' hopes in November.

All of that is true. So how did we get from a point in February when the Wall Street Journal's Peggy Noonan wrote about the Democrats being resigned to Biden losing but unwilling to do anything about it?

But when the subject is Joe Biden, they’re depressed. They have accepted that he is the inevitable nominee and explain the reasons. I can’t get myself to buy them. The thinking is too limited, too weary and defensive about life. And so a last stab at why it doesn’t have to be this way.

Mr. Biden is stuck at 39% approval; Mr. Trump is leading; a large majority of the country thinks he’s too old for the job. It’s not that his walk is slow or stilted, not that he occasionally loses his thought. It’s that the presidency is a speaking role and he can’t make a sustained case on Ukraine, Israel, illegal immigration, all the great issues. This leaves things confused, without a central voice, and makes people nervous: there’s too much mystery around this White House. They say he’s fine when he’s well-rested, but events don’t knock softly on the door and ask if you’re ready for them.

The answer lies in one factor: They are afraid of Biden's effect on other Democrats running for office.

At last count, 52 prominent Democrats were asking Biden to get out of the race.

Axios enumerates a few of the luminaries in the group.

• Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told Biden in Rehoboth Beach, Del., on Saturday — the day of the assassination attempt on Trump — that it would be best if he dropped out, ABC News first reported. Dems on Capitol Hill want him out, and worry they'll lose winnable seats if not.
• Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), a mastermind of the campaign to get Biden out, told him that he could destroy Democrats' chances of taking back the House. We're told she's also worried about donations drying up.
• House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) delivered a similar, if more subtle, message to Biden.
• Former President Obama has spoken loudly with his silence — and his former aides trashing Biden in public.
• Bill and Hillary Clinton are doing what Obama's doing. So are their former aides.
• We increasingly hear top Biden aides, including ones who initially urged him to fight on after his disastrous debate on June 27 — 21 days ago — are saying it's now when, not if, Biden announces he's not running.

RELATED:

Operation Dump Biden Goes Into High Gear—What Pelosi Reportedly Told Him – RedState

 REPORT: Chuck Schumer Drove to Delaware for 1-on-1 Meeting With Joe Biden

Another Domino Falls: Rep. Adam Schiff Calls for Joe Biden to Leave the Presidential Race

While Biden's disastrous debate performance and post-debate interviews definitely hurt him, his incoherent, spittle-flecked Zoom call with Democrats probably removed any doubt about his mental faculties; see LEAKED: Zoom Call Shows Joe Biden Mocking a Combat Veteran's Service During Shockingly Disturbing Rant.

Yesterday, I posted on megadonor Jeffrey Katzenberg warning Biden that donor patience was at an end and they might soon be closing their checkbooks; see Biden Warned Donor Patience Is Running Out With His Incompetence. Shortly after this meeting, Biden discovered he had COVID and staggered off to catch an airplane home; WATCH: Allegedly COVID-Positive Biden Looks Completely Gone Boarding Air Force One, Theories Run Wild (note: neither Biden nor anyone else in his party wore a mask which hints that COVID was an afterthought.) 

A week ago, I was dismissive of the idea of Biden dropping out. Now, I'm not. This is an entirely different political environment from last week. Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt and did so in a way that showed him to be an energetic and physically brave man, especially when compared to Biden. The RNC Convention has been masterful (other than a couple of hiccups that my culturally conservative self doesn't like). For the first time in ages, the Party acts like it deserves to win. So when a couple of very serious guys like VandeHei and Allen put their names to a story that gives a timeline for Biden's withdrawal, I think we should take it very seriously.