Biden’s Bizarre Exit

• President Biden clumsily and peculiarly announced his intention to leave the presidential race

• Democrats are uniting around Kamala Harris to take his place, though her fate is uncertain

• Nancy Pelosi helped orchestrate the plot to oust Biden

The story

Four weeks after the debate meltdown that launched one thousand Democrat knives at President Biden, he officially bowed out of the race. However, the announcement came after a bizarre series of events, with the president himself remaining conspicuously absent.

Posting his decision on X, he simply remarked, “While it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and focus solely on my duties as president for the remainder of my term.”

Vice President Kamala Harris was not mentioned in his written statement — which strangely omitted the Presidential Seal — but was endorsed in a follow-up post. Further, his entire staff was blindsided by the announcement, after President Biden had repeatedly and forcefully declared his intention to remain in the race.

While the president is reportedly recovering from COVID, his schedule was almost completely wiped, and he has not made a public address about this historic decision to end his reelection campaign. His written statement read, “I will speak to the nation later this week in more detail about my decision.”

The Democrat Party is in turmoil as the president remains silent. Though the official nominee won’t be confirmed until the Democratic National Convention in August, Kamala Harris appears to be the preferred choice. Party leaders navigating the aftermath of Biden’s withdrawal are scrambling to regroup and unify behind her.

The politics

From the moment the presidential debate ended June 27, the president’s campaign was effectively over. Left-leaning media published dozens of scathing hit pieces on Biden, including leaks from the White House to underscore the new realization that the president is infirm. Now, they’ve got what they wanted.

With Joe Biden off the ticket, Kamala Harris has — in just 24 hours — gained the endorsement of dozens of lawmakers, outside groups, PACs, and even Congressional kingmaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).

Donald Trump posted more than a dozen reactions to Biden’s announcement. He denounced his record as president, said he would beat Kamala Harris, and claims that Biden never had COVID.

Some Republicans, like Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), caution against downplaying Harris’s chances versus Trump. "Republicans, I worry, vastly underestimate Kamala Harris … When you or I bring up Kamala Harris' name in Republican circles, people laugh. It's immediately a punchline.” Although Harris is widely mocked, the power of the Democrat Party is behind her.

Cruz continued, "I think people are underestimating … billions of dollars of free media — of the entire corrupt corporate media complex pitching her as a combination of Mother Teresa, Oprah and Gandhi.”

Beyond the headlines

Nancy Pelosi was a key figure behind the Democrats’ attempt to oust Biden. She has long been considered the most powerful player in Washington and was a notable holdout on personally calling for Biden to step down.

However, Pelosi was in discussions not only with the president but also with his advisors, warning that their data was incorrect and that he was vulnerable to losing reelection. She privately appealed to the president and, when ignored, leaked their conversations to the press.

Further, she made rare but decisive public statements to keep the pushback against Biden alive. While she and senior Democrats refrained from publicly abandoning him in the weeks following the debate, they worked actively behind the scenes to rally lawmakers and donors to jump ship.

The snowball effect leading to Biden’s strange method of disqualifying himself further revealed the media’s deliberate attempt to downplay the president’s failing health. George Clooney, who attended a glitzy Hollywood fundraiser for the president last month, subsequently published an op-ed expressing his concerns. Despite everybody knowing the emperor had no clothes, it took several weeks for these revelations to come to light.

One constituency did support Biden’s remaining in the race — progressive Democrats. Liberal lawmakers like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) voiced their support while many in their caucus abandoned him.

For many lawmakers, President Biden’s ability to govern was less important than his support for their progressive policies. They viewed him as someone easily influenced to back their legislation, making it foolish to replace him.

Why it matters

America still awaits President Biden’s address to the nation — or any public appearance — since his online post that he would leave the race. And while the vice president is the current frontrunner for the presidential nomination, many Democrats — including former president Barack Obama — are willing to watch a “process” play out for choosing a new nominee.

Until President Biden addresses the nation, Republicans will continue to demand his resignation and urge Democrats to invoke the 25th Amendment. As new polls spotlight Harris's standings against Trump, another wave of Democrat panic could ensue if the results are not reassuring.