Member-only story
The Rumors Are Flying That Joe Will Go
As early as this weekend?
I freely admit I spend too much time scanning various news sources this election year. And after the election I hope to stop completely. At least that’s my fantasy. But one of the results of this obsession is you see rumors emerge and this morning one was widespread.
Apparently Joe Biden is now seriously considering a Kamala Harris run and her chances if he steps down. If this is true, his recent diagnosis of Covid (yesterday’s big story, along with J.D. Vance pretending he is just a regular guy who never backed abortion bans with no exceptions), may be a factor.
He did state that a medical condition would be the thing that might make him reconsider running. But unless his illness is a lot worse than anyone is saying, I doubt that’s the kind of thing he was talking about.
It’s more likely that he finally heard from sources outside his inner circle that his chances were dwindling. And those sources may have included Pelosi, Hakeem Jeffries, and Senator Schumer, the de facto Democratic leaders in Congress.
It would be hard to ignore their advice.
All of this is taking place against the backdrop of a Republican Convention where every speaker is playing fast and loose with the facts, that is to say, lying.
For example, the NYTimes Morning newsletter today debunked all of their outrageous claims about immigration and crime as they painted a picture of horrors beyond belief coming across the border. I would not be surprised if they claimed Biden was raising the dead from Mexican cemeteries and sending a zombie army across the border.
As fun as that would be, I doubt it would surprise anyone in an election year where we literally have a big new story every day. The most inventive political thriller writer could not have made this year up.
So Biden choosing to step down would just fit the pattern. I’ve been an advocate in my writing that he should do so, not just because he is old but because the public perception of his age is overwhelmingly negative and his attempts to allay worries are not working.
Given the frightening stakes of this election, that is not a risk we can take. Despite lip…
