Democratic Party leaders are reportedly contemplating plans for President Joe Biden to step aside from the Democratic presidential nomination if his performance in the upcoming June 27 debate is deemed inadequate, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh said Friday, citing a longtime friend of Biden's.

Hersh's report underscores significant concern within the Democratic leadership and among major party donors regarding Biden's ability to secure a victory against former President Donald Trump in the upcoming November election. 

"One extreme possibility in the case of a very bad showing Thursday night," Hersh explained, "is to obtain agreement from Biden and his family advisers for the president to come to the Democratic convention in Chicago in August and accept the accolades of a first-round delegate victory; then he would decline the nomination and throw the nominating process open to all."

This potential scenario could open the door for other prominent Democratic figures, such as California Governor Gavin Newsom and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, who Hersh mentioned as potential replacements.

As the debate approaches, Biden is under pressure to deliver a performance reminiscent of his assertive State of the Union address in March to maintain his standing in the race.

Currently, an aggregation of national polls by RealClearPolitics indicates that Trump holds a slight half-point lead over Biden and is leading in all seven key swing states.

Biden's questionable mental capabilities

Biden is known for his numerous gaffes that reflect his old age, the latest of which was when he wandered off during a parachute show at the G7 summit before Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni pulled him back to the forefront. The video drew additional concern and criticism about Biden's condition and his ability to lead the United States.

Another of his latest gaffes was when he claimed in late May that it was the US armed forces that rescued the world from Nazism and liberated Europe during World War II, alluding to their pivotal role without acknowledging the contributions of the Soviet Union and other allies in defeating Nazi Germany.

"Members of the greatest generation, who eighty years ago next week took to the beaches of Normandy and liberated a continent, and literally saved the world," Biden said at the Memorial Day ceremony at the Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia.

US soldiers buried in the cemetery had been involved in "every major conflict in history" and had sacrificed their lives "to defend our independence, to preserve our union, to defeat fascism and build powerful alliances forged in the fires of two world wars," Biden said.