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Psst—we’ve got some news for you. Joe Biden is still president of the United States.
No, really.
It’s hard to remember that because the national spotlight has been glaring its two million lumen intensity exclusively on the vice president and presumed Democratic nominee, Kamala Harris, for the past 48 hours. Everything and everyone else has been lost in her shadow. Even the newly minted GOP ticket of Donald Trump and J.D. Vance is playing second fiddle just now.
Conspicuous by his absence in all this is the incumbent POTUS. Prior to a brief tarmac sighting on Tuesday afternoon (July 23, 2024), Biden had been out of public view ever since his hurried departure from Las Vegas late last week for a self-imposed COVID quarantine at his Delaware beach house.
Nearly a week later, he finally emerged …
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PROOF OF LIFE? Biden shuffles out of his motorcade, mumbles incoherently at reporters, and ascends the stairs of the smaller AF1.
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 23, 2024
It's Biden's first public appearance since the coup to force him off the ballot. pic.twitter.com/lPUGnF0C5e
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Democrats are talking a lot this week about how the torch has been passed (harkening back to their glory days of John F. Kennedy and Camelot).
But where was their original torchbearer?
Presumably home in bed when the book slammed shut on his half-century career Sunday afternoon, Biden instantly faded into a footnote of his own story. All the American public got from him was a letter shared on X (formerly Twitter), followed in short order by a tweet that almost seemed like, “oh, yeah, I forgot to say last time…” (his endorsement of Harris).
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Other than that? Nothing. There was no fleeting appearance to the gaggle of White House reporters camped outside his Delaware home. There was no taped video message. There was, well … no proof of life. Just a “that’s all, folks!” letter followed by an “oh, yeah, and Kamala, too” tweet.
“It was like nothing we’ve seen in this technology age,” one veteran Washington correspondent told us. “It was downright curious.”
While we do know Biden is ailing, we also know he’s been talking on the phone. A lot. Practically non-stop. Yet there’s been nothing for the American people.
“Biden’s method of departing was as baffling as it was abrupt,” another D.C. reporter shared with us. “We get that he’s sick. But there were plenty of other ways he could have chosen to exit the race that would have added a personal touch.”
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“When you get right down to it, it’s just plain old sour grapes …”
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Speculation about why he didn’t centers around three points: Biden’s illness, his desire to make Harris (not himself) the story moving forward and last but not least … a deep, seething resentment.
“When you get right down to it, it’s just plain old sour grapes over close friends at the top of the Democratic Party having treated him badly,” a Washington insider said.
Even one of Harris’ staunchest supporters, CNN commentator Bakari Sellers,
“Democrats should be embarrassed by the way President Biden was treated by his own colleagues the last month,” Sellers wrote on X.
Biden was on the phone again Monday, calling staffers at what – prior to Sunday – was his campaign headquarters.
“We still need to save this democracy,” he said. “Trump is still a danger to this nation.”
For her part, Harris is taking the ball and running with it. Just over a hundred days remain until Election Day.
“They’re building the plane as they’re flying it,” said one Democratic strategist.
The party’s money drought seems to be over, at least for the moment. As this news outlet reported yesterday, Harris hauled in a record $81 million in the first 24 hours after declaring her candidacy. No other candidate has taken in as much money in a one day in American political history.
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“Dread and doom are suddenly replaced by enthusiasm and a sense of possibility,” a Capitol Hill correspondent noted.
Indeed, Harris is already enjoying a honeymoon with the press – and Trump’s pollsters are warning she will enjoy a honeymoon in public opinion surveys.
“We will start to see public polling – particularly national public polls – where Harris is gaining on or even leading President Trump,” a memo (.pdf) from Trump pollster Tony Fabrizio noted. “Obviously, the situation we find ourselves in today is totally uncharted territory and has no modern historical parallel.”
Yet a pollster not associated with either party cautioned it would be a while before we get a real sense of what Harris’ sudden ascension means to the race.
“Give it 12 to 14 days,” he explained. “We’ll have a more accurate gauge of where things actually stand then.”
Harris’ inner circle is already trying to whittle down a sprawling list of potential running mates. A half dozen names are prominently circulating (with North Carolina’s governor Roy Cooper among them), though buzz continues to build around U.S. senator Mark Kelly of Arizona.
One thing is certain: Biden’s decision to call it a day did more than revive Kamala Harris’ personal political prospects. It has turned the upcoming Democratic National Convention in Chicago into the hottest ticket in town. In an instant, delegates who had viewed going off to the Windy City with the dread of seeing the dentist are now eagerly counting down the days.
“The DNC is now THE hot place to be in August,” one political reporter observed.
Which begs the question: Will unpopular Joe Biden be a no-show there?
And … would anyone notice if he is?
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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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8 comments
Some real crackhead mindreading going on here…
That’s who I told you guys to call. Luckily I have Mike Lindell’s number on speed dial.
Won’t someone please think of the Washington correspondent?! He’s speaking tomorrow you jackass.
“Democrats should be embarrassed by the way President Biden was treated by his own colleagues” Said Bakari – while dancing on his desktop.
Joe is on his way back to the White House, it appears that he just had the 24-hour Covid.
Nobody has realized that the influx of millions was due to the money being held back by mega-donors who refused to give it while Biden was on the ticket.
If they thought Kamala had less of a shot than Biden they wouldn’t have donated it.
Man I’m tired of the crocodile tears over Biden actually stepping down even if a little late when the felonious “no arms, no legs, face explosions” dude is still running the GOP into the ground so he can get his get-out-of-jail-free card.
If anyone can lose to Kamala, it’s Trump.