Tom Pappert, lead reporter at The Tennessee Star, speculated about the possible scene in which President Joe Biden eventually agreed to end his reelection bid while also wondering if the incumbent president had a say in the decision at all.
On Sunday afternoon, a letter without a letterhead was posted to Biden’s social media accounts announcing the end to his 2024 reelection bid.
The letter, which included what appears to be a digital signature by Biden, said his decision to abandon his reelection bid was made in the “best interest” for the Democratic Party and the country.
Biden’s exit from the 2024 presidential race came nearly one month after he appeared absent-minded and confused, stumbled over his words, and lost his train of thought multiple times during a 90-minute televised debate hosted by CNN against former President Donald Trump.
The president’s debate performance dominated the national news cycle since then as Democratic leaders questioned Biden’s abilities to finish out his term as president and another four-year term amid his apparent decline.
Biden defied such calls and appeared determined in his reelection bid up until his Sunday announcement.
Pappert, however, wondered if Biden’s decision to exit the race was a decision made by others and not the president himself, given that Biden has not been seen on camera or in photos since last week after being diagnosed with COVID-19.
“If we’re in the realm of speculation, it’s not unrealistic to think that maybe there was some sort of power struggle over the weekend where a diminished 81-year old Joe Biden with few allies – even the donors who have packed him for something like 51 years in politics are now turning against him – was recuperating and getting excited about getting back on the campaign trail right now, and somebody is going to have to break it to him: ‘Oh, Joe, you had a fever on Saturday and on Sunday, you told us you wanted to quit. I don’t know why you don’t remember that, Joe. Look, your signature is on the paper. It’s on your Twitter account,’ Pappert said.
“I also find it very suspicious, as has been pointed out by others, that this was posted to Joe Biden’s personal Twitter account. And it’s not on any sort of letterhead, be it White House letterhead or campaign letterhead. It looks like somebody just cooked it up in Microsoft Word and got access to the president’s Twitter,” he added on Monday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show.
Pappert doubled down on his speculation on how Biden may have been told about the decision being formally made, saying, “ I’m sure that at this point, Jill Biden has probably brought him his favorite breakfast, put on an old Western movie for him, and sat down on the side of the bed and broke the news to the poor old guy.”
Regarding Biden’s capabilities in serving out the remainder of his term, Pappert said he believes the president will be pushed out via the 25th Amendment.
“They’re going to decide that he’s got to go. He’s too much baggage,” Pappert said.
With Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic Party’s presumptive nominee, Pappert said he believes the Democrats’ odds of maintaining the White House will grow “increasingly untenable.”
“I do think it’s going to grow increasingly untenable for Democrats as now, not only do they have a very unpopular presumptive nominee, Kamala Harris, but they also have a very unpopular president. It’s like they made it even easier for President Trump,” Pappert added.
Watch the full interview:
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
