Biden Responds to Dem Leaks: I’m Not Dropping out, Dammit!

One thing has been made clear over the past 12 hours or so. The Democratic Party establishment wants Joe Biden to drop out and they’re not pulling any punches to make it happen.

Late on Thursday afternoon, before Donald Trump took the stage in Milwaukee, a rumor started floating around set off by Mark Halperin of Newsmax:

As it turns out, this story was pure fiction made up by some Democratic insider trying to write a narrative pushing Joe Biden out of the race. The detail seemed almost obviously false at face value, it’s stunning that Halperin took the bait.

The resulting firestorm of “Joe’s dropping out by the weekend” was a cascade of messages and articles that seemed to run rampant for several hours and even into Friday morning. That is until the Biden campaign started responding on multiple fronts, according to CNBC:

President Joe Biden’s campaign insisted Friday that he will remain at the top of the Democratic ticket, stressing in a new memo that Biden still has the support of voters, even as a growing number of Democratic lawmakers call on him to drop out.

“While voters consistently mention President Biden’s age when contacted, our target voters — both reengagement and true swing voters — are still planning to vote for him, making it clear the debate has not hurt support among the voters who will decide this election,” says the memo, first reported by NBC News.

“Joe Biden has made it more than clear: he’s in this race and he’s in it to win it. Moreover, he’s the presumptive nominee, there is no plan for an alternative nominee,” the memo said.

Despite all the rumors that Obama has turned and the Clintons are sharpening their knives, Biden says it’s all nonsense and he’s not leaving.

Nonsense it may be, but the only thing unifying the Democratic Party right now is a loud public disdain for its presumptive nominee. Gone are the days when Republicans looked like a bunch of fighting elephants over the candidacy of Donald Trump.

Biden still appears unmoved by the onslaught to push him out of the race. If he holds on a few more weeks, it’s a done deal. At this point, Democrats would have to employ the 25th Amendment or try a coup at the convention by having Super Delegates pick someone else. Would they dare launch into such a public and vile civil war on the national stage?

So far, the full-court press is still happening, according to Politico, and likely not slowing down:

A new wave of Democrats has renewed the calls for President Joe Biden to drop out of the race on Friday.

Four House Democrats, including two who hail from the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus — groups that have strongly backed Biden — released a joint statement calling on Biden to step aside Friday morning.

Shortly after, Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) also called on Biden to pass the torch, becoming the third senator to do so. He had previously expressed concerns over Biden but had not explicitly called on him to drop out.

Reps. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Marc Veasey (D-Texas), Chuy García (D-Ill.) and Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) said in their statement that the party has a “bench of young leaders,” naming Vice President Kamala Harris specifically. Veasey is a member of the Biden-loyal Black Caucus and Garcia is part of the Hispanic Caucus, whose political PAC endorsed Biden Friday.

According to famed election observer and predictor, Allan Lichtman, Democrats are committing political suicide regardless of how this shakes out:

I have never seen a party so intent on self-destruction as the Democratic Party is right now, trashing their own president and presumptive nominee who was selected by the voters.

— Allan Lichtman (@AllanLichtman) July 19, 2024

If they keep Biden, they’re likely to lose. If they replace Biden, they’re still likely to lose. The environment today is a testament to Trump’s strength but also to how badly the Biden administration has managed the country and how badly the Democratic Party has managed its own 2024 primary campaign. The time to force Joe Biden out was in January, not weeks before the Democratic National Convention.

Heading into the weekend, it’s anyone’s guess as to what happens.

Given Biden’s entrenched nature, I’d put a wager that 90% chance he stays in and maybe 10% that by Monday, he’s out. Anyone who says they truly know what’s going on inside the White House probably doesn’t.