"I think it would be very, very hard indeed for her to stay on", political analyst Carole Walker told CNN. But she can't hide from those Tory MPs who are now turning on her.
UK's main broadcasters were reporting sources had told them May would not be quitting in the wake of the shock result.
However, DUP leader Arlene Foster's initial comments were non-committal: "The prime minister has spoken with me this morning and we will enter discussions with the Conservatives to explore how it may be possible to bring stability to our nation at this time of great challenge".
She will also face pressure from the different wings of the Conservative party over her Brexit stance.
"It was a terrible campaign. the way that the campaign was being run, which was about her and what she wanted to do".
I'm not bitter personally but I do think for the sake of the country and the party she has to try and articulate a much more positive, upbeat vision for our country - not just what we're against but what we're for.
And former chancellor George Osborne, sacked from the Cabinet by Mrs May and now editor of the Evening Standard, told ITV: "Clearly if she's got a worse result than two years ago and is nearly unable to form a government then she I doubt will survive in the long term as Conservative party leader". Mrs May insisted that, as the leader of the largest party in the new parliament, she had a duty to act in the "national interest" by staying on at a "critical time in our country".
The Labour Party, led by Jeremy Corbyn, surged in the election. "We need to take stock and our new leader needs to take stock". "The most important thing is Brexit - because the clock is already ticking", he said.
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Confirmation is expected on Friday, when the Premier League will publish its list of retained players . Ibrahimovic's injury means a new number nine is high on United's list of priorities this summer.
Since Northern Ireland will soon constitute Britain's land frontier with the European Union, Brexit is likely to be at the heart of any agreement - formal or informal - with the DUP.
Duncan Smith said the Conservatives would now concentrate on minority government negotiations.
But he told BBC's Newsnight: "I detect that there is no appetite in the party for an immediate leadership contest".
"Absolutely she can (hang on)".
"That two in three of her own members, according to this survey, believe that a Conservative leader should resign is astonishing", Paul Goodman, the website's editor and a former member of parliament, said of the survey.
"I think that so long as she does do that and provides that coalition then she should remain leader and prime minister".
Mr Corbyn, revelling in a storming campaign trail performance after pundits had pronounced his Labour Party all but dead, said Mrs May should step down and that he wanted to form a minority government.
But in the end, Johnson decided against running, surprising many and catapulting May into Britain's top job.
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