Possible Biden withdrawal megathread (please use for all related news/speculation)

[wbrocks67]

I've also seen some takes of "Harris may not want this, she has to put together a campaign in 3 months"... not really true - the campaign right now is Biden-Harris. I assume there would be a few personnel changes possibly, but the campaign is still for both of them, so she has a "campaign" ready and waiting to go. I imagine given the time constraints, there wouldn't be a massive overhaul and most, besides her inner circle, would likely stay on board. (i could be wrong but i don't think there would be some massive change)

Also, if Biden was to stay on and lose this year, that kind of kills her chances for 2028 anyway. She'd be stuck to a losing ticket which wouldn't give her a lot of bounce in 2028 anyway, so might as well go for it now against Trump, when she also already knows the messaging to use against him.

[Slick Willie]

https://twitter.com/MarkHalperin/status/1814049842790006837

[Banana Republican]

Politico:

https://www.twitter.com/politico/status/1814050716966584501

five-alarm warnings for Biden from must-win Wisconsin >

He’s “had the advertising space to himself and he’s still down. He’s still losing support. Whether that stabilizes, it’s unclear,” said one WI dem

But - “stabilizing is not enough”

Biden’s policies have created jobs. In Wisconsin, it’s not ‘enough.’
President Joe Biden and his party have delivered billions of dollars in funding for manufacturing and green industry across the upper Midwest. Even voters who have directly benefited are still iffy on the economy.

“As a blue-collar worker, I don’t feel that Biden has done enough,” said Jake Westray, a union wind turbine repair technician at Ingeteam, a clean energy manufacturer in southwestern Milwaukee — even as he acknowledged that Biden’s policies have been good for the company.

...

“I know that [Biden] poured money into jobs,” Westray said in an interview from Ingeteam’s factory floor in Wisconsin, where he was training a new wind turbine technician. Still, he said persistent inflation means that he’s “leaning red” in the presidential race. “A lot of people haven’t gotten that wage increase to be able to counteract inflation,” Westray explained. And even if prices have stabilized in recent months, inflation still feels like it’s at an “all-time high,” added Paul Hawver, the technician in training, who also said he’s leaning toward Trump.

This is a good illustration of why it would probably be helpful for the Democratic nominee to be someone who is perceived to be a bit more distant from Biden and from Washington.

It is a lot harder for voters to blame Whitmer or Shapiro or Beshear or whoever for inflation than it is for them to blame Biden - and by association, Harris.

You may wave statistics around and say voters are wrong to feel this way, but a lot of voters do nevertheless feel this way, and we need as many of them as possible to vote for the youthful Democratic replacement ticket.

[wbrocks67]

https://twitter.com/MarkHalperin/status/1814049842790006837

So Harris is vetting VP contenders already but Biden isn't endorsing her? Yeah I find that hard to believe. I just don't see a scenario where Biden doesn't endorse Harris on his way out. If he's going to do this, he's not going to open this up to a messy convention.

Also, "Harris and 3 others"... I also don't imagine that any other legitimate contenders would honestly challenge her at the convention either.

Half that sound realistics, but other sounds very wrong. We'll see I guess

[You are responsible]

Reuters: Once defiant, Biden is now 'soul searching' about dropping out of race, source says

Per NYT:

People close to Biden say he appears to accept he may have to leave the race.

What is this? The President going through the five stages of grief? After denial, anger, and bargaining, Biden is now in stage 4 ("depression") and will reach "acceptance" soon?

[GeorgiaModerate]

A Kennedy running, DNC is in Chicago, an (attempted) assassination, and the constitutionally eligible incumbent potentially dropping out.

Are we just redoing 1968?

That was the election that got me started following politics.

[Banana Republican]

Listening to Chris Coons on CNN, well... even he seems to realize it's joever.

He is likely one of the anonymous "close to Biden" sources.

Coons knows where this is going, and he is a team player who doesn't do things in opposition to Schumer. And we know where Schumer stands and where the Dem Senate caucus is headed in all this.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Reuters: Once defiant, Biden is now 'soul searching' about dropping out of race, source says

Per NYT:

People close to Biden say he appears to accept he may have to leave the race.

What is this? The President going through the five stages of grief? After denial, anger, and barganining, Biden is now in stage 4 ("depression") and will reach "acceptance" soon?

That's actually not a bad analogy.  It takes time for a person to process a change in their lives like this.  It sounds like Biden is getting there.

[wbrocks67]

Politico:

https://www.twitter.com/politico/status/1814050716966584501

five-alarm warnings for Biden from must-win Wisconsin >

He’s “had the advertising space to himself and he’s still down. He’s still losing support. Whether that stabilizes, it’s unclear,” said one WI dem

But - “stabilizing is not enough”

Biden’s policies have created jobs. In Wisconsin, it’s not ‘enough.’
President Joe Biden and his party have delivered billions of dollars in funding for manufacturing and green industry across the upper Midwest. Even voters who have directly benefited are still iffy on the economy.

“As a blue-collar worker, I don’t feel that Biden has done enough,” said Jake Westray, a union wind turbine repair technician at Ingeteam, a clean energy manufacturer in southwestern Milwaukee — even as he acknowledged that Biden’s policies have been good for the company.

...

“I know that [Biden] poured money into jobs,” Westray said in an interview from Ingeteam’s factory floor in Wisconsin, where he was training a new wind turbine technician. Still, he said persistent inflation means that he’s “leaning red” in the presidential race. “A lot of people haven’t gotten that wage increase to be able to counteract inflation,” Westray explained. And even if prices have stabilized in recent months, inflation still feels like it’s at an “all-time high,” added Paul Hawver, the technician in training, who also said he’s leaning toward Trump.

This is a good illustration of why it would probably be helpful for the Democratic nominee to be someone who is perceived to be a bit more distant from Biden and from Washington.

It is a lot harder for voters to blame Whitmer or Shapiro or Beshear or whoever for inflation than it is for them to blame Biden - and by association, Harris.

You may wave statistics around and say voters are wrong to feel this way, but a lot of voters do nevertheless feel this way, and we need as many of them as possible to vote for the youthful Democratic replacement ticket.

Eh, I don't imagine those people were ever going to vote for a Dem ticket this year anyway then. They literally admit Biden has done a good job but still want to vote for Trump. That feels like the people who just are super flakey and act like they're undecided but at the end of the day, they were always going to vote Trump. I don't see those types of people as persuadable.

I also don't see Harris being tagged with that though. She's the VP- she can take credit for the administration but she also has distance in that she wasn't the direct one making the decisions.

[GeorgiaModerate]

https://twitter.com/MarkHalperin/status/1814049842790006837

So Harris is vetting VP contenders already but Biden isn't endorsing her? Yeah I find that hard to believe. I just don't see a scenario where Biden doesn't endorse Harris on his way out. If he's going to do this, he's not going to open this up to a messy convention.

Also, "Harris and 3 others"... I also don't imagine that any other legitimate contenders would honestly challenge her at the convention either.

Half that sound realistics, but other sounds very wrong. We'll see I guess

Halperin is a Newsmax commentator.  You think he's going to have reliable info from Democratic insiders?  He's farming for views.

[wbrocks67]

Reuters: Once defiant, Biden is now 'soul searching' about dropping out of race, source says

Per NYT:

People close to Biden say he appears to accept he may have to leave the race.

What is this? The President going through the five stages of grief? After denial, anger, and bargaining, Biden is now in stage 4 ("depression") and will reach "acceptance" soon?

I mean what's wrong with that? I think anyone in his position would probably go through the same things lol

[Banana Republican]

This is why I thought it was wrong for people to say he's the same as Trump, an egomaniac, etc. Yes, Joe Biden is stubborn and proud. But when push comes to shove, I still expect him to do what he thinks is ultimately the right thing for the country. Yes, he had to be pushed hard, but anyone in his position would have to be given his legacy and his past.

I think so too. It is just frustrating how much pushing and shoving it has been taking. It all could have been so much more elegant and smooth if he were just a bit less stubborn. I know there are some legitimate reasons (it is reasonable for him to want to make sure the ducks are all in the row for whatever happens afterwards, and if that's really all that's going on, fine). Nevertheless, an awful lot of pushing and shoving seems to be necessary here.

[wbrocks67]

https://twitter.com/MarkHalperin/status/1814049842790006837

So Harris is vetting VP contenders already but Biden isn't endorsing her? Yeah I find that hard to believe. I just don't see a scenario where Biden doesn't endorse Harris on his way out. If he's going to do this, he's not going to open this up to a messy convention.

Also, "Harris and 3 others"... I also don't imagine that any other legitimate contenders would honestly challenge her at the convention either.

Half that sound realistics, but other sounds very wrong. We'll see I guess

Halperin is a Newsmax commentator.  You think he's going to have reliable info from Democratic insiders?  He's farming for views.

Ah good catch. I was confusing him for CNN's Mark Preston lol

[Consuming is good, it's what we're made for]

Ask not for whom the coconut tolls, it tolls for thee.

[wbrocks67]

This is why I thought it was wrong for people to say he's the same as Trump, an egomaniac, etc. Yes, Joe Biden is stubborn and proud. But when push comes to shove, I still expect him to do what he thinks is ultimately the right thing for the country. Yes, he had to be pushed hard, but anyone in his position would have to be given his legacy and his past.

I think so too. It is just frustrating how much pushing and shoving it has been taking. It all could have been so much more elegant and smooth if he were just a bit less stubborn. I know there are some legitimate reasons (it is reasonable for him to want to make sure the ducks are all in the row for whatever happens afterwards, and if that's really all that's going on, fine). Nevertheless, an awful lot of pushing and shoving seems to be necessary here.

Well it's also Democrats fault. Their response to this has been an absolute clusterf**k

[You are responsible]

Reuters: Once defiant, Biden is now 'soul searching' about dropping out of race, source says

Per NYT:

People close to Biden say he appears to accept he may have to leave the race.

What is this? The President going through the five stages of grief? After denial, anger, and bargaining, Biden is now in stage 4 ("depression") and will reach "acceptance" soon?

I mean what's wrong with that? I think anyone in his position would probably go through the same things lol

Biden is not losing a loved one here, not even a dog or something.

He's supposed to be doing what's best for country and party at this point, not joining a support group or getting counseling.

[RBH]

anybody who followed an MLB team for long enough has seen the "slumping/bad player who we can just replace with a hot prospect in AAA" and sometimes it works out, and sometimes it does not and people move on

it's even better when you bring that person up and find out why they weren't in the majors pretty quickly, see: every AAA First Baseman who doesn't mash up here

the problem here: you can't make any trades or get free agents right now

[MRS DONNA SHALALA]

https://twitter.com/MarkHalperin/status/1814049842790006837

So Harris is vetting VP contenders already but Biden isn't endorsing her? Yeah I find that hard to believe. I just don't see a scenario where Biden doesn't endorse Harris on his way out. If he's going to do this, he's not going to open this up to a messy convention.

Also, "Harris and 3 others"... I also don't imagine that any other legitimate contenders would honestly challenge her at the convention either.

Half that sound realistics, but other sounds very wrong. We'll see I guess

Halperin is a Newsmax commentator.  You think he's going to have reliable info from Democratic insiders?  He's farming for views.

Ehh, he is now, but he's had a long career as a legit reporter. I'd assume he still has a pretty big rolodex of decent sources

[Horus]

Reuters: Once defiant, Biden is now 'soul searching' about dropping out of race, source says

Per NYT:

People close to Biden say he appears to accept he may have to leave the race.

What is this? The President going through the five stages of grief? After denial, anger, and bargaining, Biden is now in stage 4 ("depression") and will reach "acceptance" soon?

I mean what's wrong with that? I think anyone in his position would probably go through the same things lol

Biden is not losing a loved one here, not even a dog or something.

He's supposed to be doing what's best for country and party at this point, not joining a support group or getting counseling.

The presidency is something he has wanted and strived for all his life, and now he must give it up. To you or me it makes no sense, but to a politician it's a perfect analogy.

[Can't Bear]

Reuters: Once defiant, Biden is now 'soul searching' about dropping out of race, source says

Per NYT:

People close to Biden say he appears to accept he may have to leave the race.

What is this? The President going through the five stages of grief? After denial, anger, and bargaining, Biden is now in stage 4 ("depression") and will reach "acceptance" soon?

He's a human, too (big surprise, I know).

[I love MAGA, don’t send me to the camps]

https://twitter.com/MarkHalperin/status/1814049842790006837

So Harris is vetting VP contenders already but Biden isn't endorsing her? Yeah I find that hard to believe. I just don't see a scenario where Biden doesn't endorse Harris on his way out. If he's going to do this, he's not going to open this up to a messy convention.

Also, "Harris and 3 others"... I also don't imagine that any other legitimate contenders would honestly challenge her at the convention either.

Half that sound realistics, but other sounds very wrong. We'll see I guess

Halperin is a Newsmax commentator.  You think he's going to have reliable info from Democratic insiders?  He's farming for views.

Halperin used to be the go to guy for political reporting. He wrote Game Change!

He just allegedly exposed himself to women, got Me Too’d, and now has to contribute to NewsMax to make a living.

[Banana Republican]

https://www.twitter.com/selinawangtv/status/1814055141894754602

“We’re f***ed, it’s done,” dem strategist close to Biden circle says on the current strategy. “It’s going to be brutal...money will keep on drying up.”
Three biggest donors to President Biden still in & doubling down, but source says it cannot come even close to making up

[RBH]

hopefully a precedent of donors strongarming candidates out of the race doesn't have any negative consequences

[Whale Psychiatrist]

https://twitter.com/MarkHalperin/status/1814049842790006837

So Harris is vetting VP contenders already but Biden isn't endorsing her? Yeah I find that hard to believe. I just don't see a scenario where Biden doesn't endorse Harris on his way out. If he's going to do this, he's not going to open this up to a messy convention.

Also, "Harris and 3 others"... I also don't imagine that any other legitimate contenders would honestly challenge her at the convention either.

Half that sound realistics, but other sounds very wrong. We'll see I guess

Halperin is a Newsmax commentator.  You think he's going to have reliable info from Democratic insiders?  He's farming for views.

He wrote Game Change with that other guy and his dad worked in the White House for four different administrations (and ended up on Nixon's enemies list, lol). He's only at Newsmax because he got fired by the real networks for being a sex pest. He's not just some nobody.

[wbrocks67]

anybody who followed an MLB team for long enough has seen the "slumping/bad player who we can just replace with a hot prospect in AAA" and sometimes it works out, and sometimes it does not and people move on

it's even better when you bring that person up and find out why they weren't in the majors pretty quickly, see: every AAA First Baseman who doesn't mash up here

the problem here: you can't make any trades or get free agents right now

This analogy doesn't really work given that Harris has been VP for 4 years now. She hasn't had the scrutiny of being president, but it's the 2nd closest thing. Your analogy would work better if they were bringing in Wes Moore or something tbh.