Is Biden Leaving the Race? Joe Is 'More Receptive' Than Ever as Election Gets Rough - Report
President Joe Biden has insisted he isn’t leaving this year’s presidential race. In his mind, he is the Democrats’ best chance to beat former President Donald Trump.
At least that is how the song has been playing up to this point. We may have just reached the crescendo, however.
The New York Times reported Wednesday that Biden is now entertaining conversation about passing the torch to a younger, more competitive nominee.
The report said the president “has become more receptive in the last several days to hearing arguments about why he should drop his re-election bid, Democrats briefed on his conversations said.”
That’s a big switch. It would shake up the entire election.
Of course, nowhere in that conversation did Biden agree to relinquish his position at the top of the Democratic ticket.
Also, one person close to the president said his receptiveness to listen should not be reinterpreted to mean that he is equally as receptive to dropping out.
Some of the pressure to leave the race came in private meetings with some powerful names within the party, the Times reported: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, both of New York.
It arrived on the heels of a disastrous debate and plummeting polls. Certainly, the Democrats are weighing how his failings could trickle over onto other seats up for grabs in the House and Senate.
It is a high-stakes election where the Democrats are facing losing total control across the board. Biden’s hot seat could become extremely hot fast if his downward spiral continues and he doesn’t heed the party cry.
White House spokesman Andrew Bates confirmed the meeting with Schumer and Jeffries but indicated Biden was unmoved.
“The president told both leaders he is the nominee of the party, he plans to win and looks forward to working with both of them to pass his 100 days agenda to help working families,” Bates told the Times.
Breaking News: President Biden is said to have become more receptive to hearing arguments about leaving the race after top Democrats aired their concerns. https://t.co/0smep3thQG
— The New York Times (@nytimes) July 18, 2024
While a virtual roll call and nomination had been in the works, the Democratic leaders seemingly were working behind the scenes to reverse course, delaying it until the first week of August.
Initially, most of these conversations about Biden withdrawing were being held in private, but dire straits have been known to result in public insult and shoving.
On Wednesday, the illustrious Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff of California threw his lot in with the naysayers, calling for the president to move aside in a public statement to the Los Angeles Times.
The congressman said he had “serious concerns” about Biden’s ability to beat Trump in November.
A very real consequence of the effort to remove him from the ticket is the drying up of donations to the Biden campaign. This was confirmed by Jeffrey Katzenberg, co-chairman of the campaign, according to the Times.
As the party is already dealing with a huge credibility issue as a result of the obvious hiding of Biden’s declining mental acuity and overall health, it is combating mounting obstacles. The situation is making Trump and his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance, look especially good to the voting public.
That said, the Democrats are aware that replacing Biden with Vice President Kamala Harris could change the dynamics of the race.
So, one must speculate: How would a Trump-Vance ticket fair against a Harris-Obama (Michelle) ticket?
Even though the former first lady insists she has no interest in returning to politics, having her as Harris’ running mate would provide the party with the lift it needs to make this a real competition. And Obama would have a lot less responsibility in a dynamic like this. This would change everything.
In a BET News interview that aired Wednesday, Biden said would step aside if doctors told him that he had a medical condition distressing enough to make that recommendation. The fact that he has COVID-19 now could become the first stage of the Democrats laying the groundwork for that out.
If not, they may be forced to call upon “the Lord Almighty” to give him the word he said would compel him to leave in his July 5 interview with George Stephanopoulos of ABC News.
Crooked Joe Biden says everyone is telling him to “stay in the race” and that he’s in it until the end: “If the Lord Almighty came down and said, ‘Joe, get out of the race,’ I’d get out of the race, but the Lord Almighty’s not comin’ down.” pic.twitter.com/qMaMrovVcB
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 6, 2024
They shouldn’t hold their breath. They’d do better to pray that Biden is simply closer to making a shocking move.
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