On Friday afternoon, after President Joe Biden’s disastrous debate against former President Donald Trump, private murmurs and public calls for an “intervention” ricocheted through Democratic circles. But then a hold-up emerged via Yahoo.
17 hours after Biden botched his big debate moment, his former boss came to the rescue. It has been noted that for many high-ranking Democrats, a single tweet from former President Barack Obama appeared to nix any chance of the 44th president meeting with the 46th and urging him to drop out.
“Bad debate nights happen. Trust me, I know,” Obama posted on X, alluding to his own rusty performance against Mitt Romney in 2012.
“But this election is still a choice between someone who has fought for ordinary folks his entire life and someone who only cares about himself. Between someone who tells the truth; who knows right from wrong and will give it to the American people straight—and someone who lies through his teeth for his own benefit.
“Last night didn’t change that, and it’s why so much is at stake in November.”
Democratic sources who spoke to The Daily Beast stated that there were only four credible messengers who could convince Biden to step aside or, at the very least, four who could convince him to put withdrawal on the table as an option, if post-debate polling confirms Democrats’ worst fears: that Biden tanked his re-election chances and handed Trump a pass to a second term.
Those heavy hitters are: Obama; former President Bill Clinton; First Lady Jill Biden; and Valerie Biden Owens, the president’s sister and longtime campaign manager.
“Jill has a blindspot,” one Democratic donor bundler, who has known the Bidens for decades, told The Daily Beast.
According to this high-ranking Democrat, the first lady is overly protective of her husband and can sometimes unintentionally reinforce Biden’s image as too frail and too old for the job.
