Soft Coup Update: Joe Biden Back On The Ropes

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While much of the nation’s attention has remained focused on Donald Trump this week (including unanswered questions from Saturday’s assassination attempt, J.D. Vance’s selection as Trump’s running mate, and the former president’s big acceptance speech in Milwaukee on Thursday night), the civil war at the very top of the Democratic Party is raging fiercer than ever.

Its public volume is low, but the intensity beneath the surface is red hot.

And on top of everything else, 81-year-old president Joe Biden – who has been fighting to keep his spot on the ticket for the better part of the last three weeks – is now battling COVID.

So, as Republicans romp toward the grand finale of their four-day love fest in Wisconsin, Democrats are scrambling to prevent their looming convention from turning into a living version of Nightmare on Elm Street.  

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Our media outlet participated in a conference call this week with a bipartisan group of Washington insiders – journalists, elected officials, party activists, and concerned citizens alike – and the insights they shared are once again worth relaying here:

• “Is it really COVID — or a cover story?” That’s the question swirling like a hurricane through political circles at the moment. Testing during a campaign swing through Las Vegas on Wednesday revealed a positive result. And with that, it’s back to the basement in Delaware for the president. The White House says he is “self-isolating” during his recovery. But many skeptics are asking, “Is this the first stage of a pre-scripted exit strategy?”Earlier in the day, in an interview aired on BET, Biden said, “If I had some medical condition that emerged… If doctors came to me and said. ‘You got this problem, that problem,’ he would consider dropping out of the presidential race. Well, now he’s got one.
• Simmer down, now. The Biden campaign is repeating its bluntly delivered message to Capitol Hill Democrats: “STFU.” But are they listening? Or is Biden’s bravado backfiring? Consider the next point. 
• Knives out. Congressman Adam Schiff’s break from Biden is important for two reasons. First, he’s the highest-ranking D.C. Dem to call for Biden to drop his reelection bid. But more importantly, the California congressman (and current Senate candidate) is a close ally of former House speaker Nancy Pelosi. It’s unlikely he would make a move that significant without her blessing. Is the 84-year-old Democratic Queen sending yet another subtle message to Biden?

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For those keeping score at home, this is the second time since the debate that Pelosi sent a message at the very moment the Dump Joe effort seemed to be running out of steam ????#forthechildren https://t.co/w6pgjPkgkw

— Jonathan Martin (@jmart) July 17, 2024

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• Et tu, Schumer? Speaking of subtle messages, as this story was going to print there were more leaks about top Democrats privately confronting Biden …
• If not Biden, Who? As Shakespeare famously put it, “aye, there’s the rub” for the anti-Biden faction. So far, it hasn’t coalesced around a single alternative to the aging incumbent beyond his equally unpopular No. 2. So a new strategy is emerging: Delay the upcoming “virtual roll call” and force an open convention in Chicago in four weeks. That’s the one risk the Biden campaign simply cannot afford to take. And that’s were the real battle is raging right now.
• Show Me the Money — Or Not. A high-stakes game of chicken is underway in the Democratic camp. The Biden campaign believes the Big Money donors now openly balking at the president’s renomination are bluffing, that once Biden nails down the nomination, they — and their fat checkbooks— will come back in September. As one Democratic strategist put it, “where else are they gonna go?” Others aren’t so sure. While it is believed some members of the donor class are merely making a statement and will be back in the fold sooner than later, not all of them will return. Will there be enough of them to hurt the party’s bottom line this fall?
• “Take Your Own Advice, Joe, and STFU!” There’s a strong consensus building in all factions that Biden simply needs to shut his yap. His initial interview with George Stephanopoulos fell flat. Ditto for his post-NATO Summit presser last Thursday. (Did anybody ever figure out what the hell a “big boy press conference” is?) And Monday’s interview with Lester Holt (sneeringly derided in NBC affiliate newsrooms around the country as “Lester Holdup”) disappointed. Some strategists are saying a “less is more” approach from Biden is needed at this moment to let the whole non-compos mentis issue blows over. But can “Scranton Joe” keep quiet for long?
• GOP Unity. A well-known national journalist put it this way: “Trump used to divide Republicans and unite Democrats. Now, in the topsy-turvy bizarro world that is 2024, Trump is uniting Republicans and dividing Democrats.” The Republican convention in Milwaukee can best be summed up in this line from Home On the Range: “Where seldom is heard a discouraging word.” This is the most united and fired-up the Grand Old Party has been in a grand long time.  
• Trump Reinvigorated. All eyes will be on Trump’s acceptance speech Thursday night. Viewers will see a candidate still amazed by his close brush with death, reinvigorated and more ready for a rock ’em, sock ’em campaign than ever before. And they’ll compare that with an ailing octogenarian hunkered down in his basement. Hollywood couldn’t have scripted a better scenario for the former president.

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Skip over @KamalaHarris at your own peril.

— Bakari Sellers (@Bakari_Sellers) July 17, 2024

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• The Growing Rap on Candidate Kamala: The 60-day whirlwind that is a fall presidential campaign is not plug-and-play. It’s not an environment where you learn as you go. Candidates move at the speed of light from well before sunrise until long (sometimes very long) after midnight. A single misstep, a careless slip of the tongue, can be disastrous. The campaign staff, as well as the candidate, must be at the top of their game at all times. That’s giving a growing number of Democratic insiders pause as they consider replacing Biden with vice president Kamala Harris. Set aside the fact that her 2020 Democratic presidential race was a textbook example of “How Not To Do It.” In a classic case of “That was then, this is now,” a growing number of Dems are sounding alarm bells about Harris’ management problems. They’re well-known inside the Beltway. Harris cycles through staffers with the speed of a roaring turbine turning over, and those who leave her employ do so with few kind words for, and no loyalty to, their former boss.

Count on our media outlet to continue monitoring the very latest developments as this highest of high-stakes dramas plays out. And remember, if this election cycle has taught us anything it’s to “expect the unexpected.”

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …

J. Mark Powell is an award-winning former TV journalist, government communications veteran, and a political consultant. He is also an author and an avid Civil War enthusiast. Got a tip or a story idea for Mark? Email him at mark@fitsnews.com.

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