DEMOCRATS TURN ON JOE BIDEN

Amber Duke I 4 July 2024 I DC Diary: The Spectator World

There’s been a vibe shift in Washington.?

After Thursday night’s debate debacle and a Biden family meeting at Camp David on Sunday in which it became clear the president was not interested in dropping his re-election bid, Democrats closed ranks around Biden. Excuses were workshopped to the press: the debate was a one-off, Biden was actually over prepared by his debate prep team, the president was tired from his overseas travel?and Biden’s cognitive decline is nothing compared to Trump’s lies.?

Unfortunately for Biden, none of these landed well with the public and Democrats are now putting out smoke signals that it’s time to let it go. Representative?Lloyd Doggett became the first Democratic elected official to call on Biden to step aside as the nominee. Representative?Jared Golden wrote an op-ed declaring that Biden will lose the election but assuring Democrats that democracy will survive, even under Trump. Former speaker Nancy Pelosi intoned that it’s legitimate to question if Biden’s debate performance was a broader issue. Democrats also quickly leaked internal polling that showed Biden slipping significantly both nationally and in swing states against Trump, shoring up popular support for the idea that Biden needs to be replaced.?

Although she is wildly unpopular, has no notable achievements as vice president and was forced to bow out of the 2020 Democratic primary after being exposed as a phony flip-flopper, it appears Vice President Kamala Harris would indeed be pushed as the new nominee. Jim Clyburn said he would support Harris if Biden were to drop out and — perhaps more importantly — she would be able to hang on to the Biden-Harris campaign’s massive war chest.?

Meanwhile, Biden is still reportedly trying to right the ship. The?New York Times?says Biden told a close ally that he is actively deciding whether to continue running and that he is aware his political future?rests on his performance in his next few public appearances, including a pre-taped interview with ABC News’s George Stephanopoulos (himself a former Democratic staffer). The White House, which is well known for telling the truth, denies the report. Biden also told supporters on a campaign that he is not leaving: “Let me say this as clearly as I possibly can as simply and straightforward as I can: I am running... no one’s pushing me out. I’m not leaving. I’m in this race to the end and we’re going to win.”

At this point, it would be more shocking if Biden stays in the race until November. How can the Democrats put the genie back in the bottle? Not only did the public get an uncensored display of Biden’s cognitive decline — no “cheap fakes”?here! — but Democratic donors are fleeing from?their party’s leader like rats from a sinking ship. The question seems to be when, not if, Biden withdraws from the 2024 election.

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-Amber Duke