Will Biden drop out? Who replaces him?

[Copernicus]

A top neurologist who diagnoses people in shopping malls. Utterly stupid, but some people take these stories seriously.

"We" were running them every other week when Trump was in office. He was a delusional narcissist, a clinical sociopath, Alzheimer's, Long COVID, and whatever other weaponized medical diagnosis people could come up with. All it has really done is insulate the public against this tactic. I think this will probably help Biden as well, though. If someone decides not to vote for him, it will more likely be because he "looks old" than because of the testimony of some lawn chair psychiatrist, which everyone has by now been taught to ignore.

I think that the election turns on the behavior of the undecided and anti-Trump Republican vote. Most people have already decided who they will vote for or against, depending on which most motivates their decision. A lot of anti-Trump Republicans are willing to cross over, but I think they would rather vote for someone like Harris than Biden. Biden's health and age issues might just convince many to hold their nose and go back to voting for Trump. A lot of people, mostly Democrats, still think that Biden can still stabilize the situation and gradually turn it around and that Harris would be a riskier solution to the problem. I don't. My gut feeling is that Biden's position has a potential to get even worse for Democrats, and we are honestly looking at losing both houses of Congress because of him.

 

[Politesse]

A top neurologist who diagnoses people in shopping malls. Utterly stupid, but some people take these stories seriously.

"We" were running them every other week when Trump was in office. He was a delusional narcissist, a clinical sociopath, Alzheimer's, Long COVID, and whatever other weaponized medical diagnosis people could come up with. All it has really done is insulate the public against this tactic. I think this will probably help Biden as well, though. If someone decides not to vote for him, it will more likely be because he "looks old" than because of the testimony of some lawn chair psychiatrist, which everyone has by now been taught to ignore.

I think that the election turns on the behavior of the undecided and anti-Trump Republican vote. Most people have already decided who they will vote for or against, depending on which most motivates their decision. A lot of anti-Trump Republicans are willing to cross over, but I think they would rather vote for someone like Harris than Biden. Biden's health and age issues might just convince many to hold their nose and go back to voting for Trump. A lot of people, mostly Democrats, still think that Biden can still stabilize the situation and gradually turn it around and that Harris would be a riskier solution to the problem. I don't. My gut feeling is that Biden's position has a potential to get even worse for Democrats, and we are honestly looking at losing both houses of Congress because of him.

You're not wrong. Of course, we'll get one of those houses back at the mid-term. Will it be enough?

 

[Elixir]

the truth has been out there in full measure since at least 2016

I disagree with the bolded part. The truth has been out there since 1960, and the first time I ever heard him speak was on the radio pretending to be his own publicist, and was called out on it by the DJ after they got rid of him. My first and hopefully last indirect personal contact was a friend’s family contracting biz that went down after Trump stiffed them on a contract in his Atlantic City casino. The truth has been out there for sure. But:

The truth has been assiduously swept under the rug, distorted out of all recognition and flat out lied about in the vast bulk of broadcast media, especially talk radio, since 2015. Anyone who had any exposure to the apricot prior to then, already knew he was a scumbag and not a smart person. Most who listen to the drivel with which he saturates the airwaves and internet, are convinced of falsehoods regarding Trump’s character, intent, past actions, business record and success as president.

<insert platitude about truth putting pants on>

 

[SLD]

IF there's to be a replacement it should be SOON. And time is running out for the replacement to be anyone but Kamala Harris. For several reasons: nominating anyone else would admit Harris was the wrong choice all along. Nominating a man would be a slap against women. AND changing nominees at a late date would raise logistic or legal^* problems.

* - Printing ballots with new names is a trivial task, doable with a few days' notice but you can bet that states run by QOPAnon -- and that includes most of the swing states -- will be dragging their feet and trying every shenanigan, legal or not, to screw-up the D names on ballots.

One question we should ask is: If Harris is the nominee, who will run for the V.P. slot? Whitmer? Nah, two women. Newsom? Nah, two Californians. The difficulty of finding the right V.P. takes us back to Square One.

Does either Party even have leaders who would pass for Wise Men these days? Consternation and grumbling need to cease. The D wise men -- Obama? Pelosi? DNC Vice Whitmer?? Schumer?? -- need to confer and issue a Diktat. The stakes couldn't be higher. Delay is not on our side.

I agree it must be soon, and neither Whitmer nor Newsom. I would say Shapiro from PA. Maybe he can deliver their electoral votes.

 

[ZiprHead]

Why on earth would anyone “put aside” Brandon’s obvious mental decline which is gathering pace? Because he rode a bike? He fell off the bike you know? He needs training wheels these days.

There isn't one Tour de France cyclist who hasn't fallen over due to not getting their feet out of the clips quickly enough.

 

[Copernicus]

the truth has been out there in full measure since at least 2016

I disagree with the bolded part. The truth has been out there since 1960, and the first time I ever heard him speak was on the radio pretending to be his own publicist, and was called out on it by the DJ after they got rid of him. My first and hopefully last indirect personal contact was a friend’s family contracting biz that went down after Trump stiffed them on a contract in his Atlantic City casino. The truth has been out there for sure. But:

The truth has been assiduously swept under the rug, distorted out of all recognition and flat out lied about in the vast bulk of broadcast media, especially talk radio, since 2015. Anyone who had any exposure to the apricot prior to then, already knew he was a scumbag and not a smart person. Most who listen to the drivel with which he saturates the airwaves and internet, are convinced of falsehoods regarding Trump’s character, intent, past actions, business record and success as president.

<insert platitude about truth putting pants on>

To those of us who have lived in NYC, Trump has been well-known. To the rest of the country, he has been well-known since 2016, but this is all quibbling over how long the public has been thoroughly and incessantly exposed to Donald Trump. My point is that none of that is going to change between now and the election. There just isn't going to be a sea change of perspective on Donald Trump. The scales are not going to be falling away from the eyes of those prepared to vote for him. There is a very narrow slice of the population that is going to determine the outcome of the election, and Joe Biden is not helping to win over that slice. Nor is he going to be a big draw for people inclined to vote blue but might be inclined to sit the election out this time. When faced with two bad choices, a lot of Americans just don't vote at all.

 

[Copernicus]

A top neurologist who diagnoses people in shopping malls. Utterly stupid, but some people take these stories seriously.

"We" were running them every other week when Trump was in office. He was a delusional narcissist, a clinical sociopath, Alzheimer's, Long COVID, and whatever other weaponized medical diagnosis people could come up with. All it has really done is insulate the public against this tactic. I think this will probably help Biden as well, though. If someone decides not to vote for him, it will more likely be because he "looks old" than because of the testimony of some lawn chair psychiatrist, which everyone has by now been taught to ignore.

I think that the election turns on the behavior of the undecided and anti-Trump Republican vote. Most people have already decided who they will vote for or against, depending on which most motivates their decision. A lot of anti-Trump Republicans are willing to cross over, but I think they would rather vote for someone like Harris than Biden. Biden's health and age issues might just convince many to hold their nose and go back to voting for Trump. A lot of people, mostly Democrats, still think that Biden can still stabilize the situation and gradually turn it around and that Harris would be a riskier solution to the problem. I don't. My gut feeling is that Biden's position has a potential to get even worse for Democrats, and we are honestly looking at losing both houses of Congress because of him.

You're not wrong. Of course, we'll get one of those houses back at the mid-term. Will it be enough?

And what will the country be like after two years of unchained Donald Trump and a MAGA wing of the Republican Party running the country?

 

[Politesse]

A top neurologist who diagnoses people in shopping malls. Utterly stupid, but some people take these stories seriously.

"We" were running them every other week when Trump was in office. He was a delusional narcissist, a clinical sociopath, Alzheimer's, Long COVID, and whatever other weaponized medical diagnosis people could come up with. All it has really done is insulate the public against this tactic. I think this will probably help Biden as well, though. If someone decides not to vote for him, it will more likely be because he "looks old" than because of the testimony of some lawn chair psychiatrist, which everyone has by now been taught to ignore.

I think that the election turns on the behavior of the undecided and anti-Trump Republican vote. Most people have already decided who they will vote for or against, depending on which most motivates their decision. A lot of anti-Trump Republicans are willing to cross over, but I think they would rather vote for someone like Harris than Biden. Biden's health and age issues might just convince many to hold their nose and go back to voting for Trump. A lot of people, mostly Democrats, still think that Biden can still stabilize the situation and gradually turn it around and that Harris would be a riskier solution to the problem. I don't. My gut feeling is that Biden's position has a potential to get even worse for Democrats, and we are honestly looking at losing both houses of Congress because of him.

You're not wrong. Of course, we'll get one of those houses back at the mid-term. Will it be enough?

And what will the country be like after two years of unchained Donald Trump and a MAGA wing of the Republican Party running the country?

In flames, probably. The only saving grace is their consistent incompetence, but that only prevents them from reaching their stated goals, it doesn't save us from the consequences of a country falling into chaos from the attempt.

What worries me more, though, is the slow but certain creep of power into the White House, that has unsettled the system of checks and balances possibly beyond repair even within the Executive Branch itself, and continues to accelerate from administration to administration. The game over the White House is the same game every time, but the stakes keep rising.

 

[hurtinbuckaroo]

I think we’ve reached the point where there are at most two people who can convince Biden to withdraw: his wife, and Obama. And Obama is a maybe.

 

[Copernicus]

Axios is reporting that:

Scoop: Schumer open to dumping Biden in 2024​

Pelosi is dropping not-so-subtle hints that Biden needs to reconsider his decision to stay in the race. George Clooney, an influential donor, has called for Biden to drop out.

Attempts to quell the revolt against Biden appear not to be working in his favor, so the chaos continues.

 

[Tigers!]

Funny how Biden is being dragged for his "lack of vitality" despite being quite actively campaigning and keeping a frankly insane schedule since the debate, where Trump has just... disappeared. No appearances, no interviews, nothing, he's just missing. So vigorous!

Trump is the living embodiment of the quote "Absence makes the heart grow fonder"

In Australia we would say "I am glad to see your back. The more I see your back the more I like it"

 

[Politesse]

Funny how Biden is being dragged for his "lack of vitality" despite being quite actively campaigning and keeping a frankly insane schedule since the debate, where Trump has just... disappeared. No appearances, no interviews, nothing, he's just missing. So vigorous!

Trump is the living embodiment of the quote "Absence makes the heart grow fonder"

In Australia we would say "I am glad to see your back. The more I see your back the more I like it"

Yeah, he's back on the campaign trail this week, and, well...

Trump Rejoices at How the Landscape Has Changed

After largely disappearing from view to let Democratic infighting play out, Donald Trump held a rally that was at times boastful and mercilessly cruel.

www.nytimes.com

He gleefully asserted that Mr. Biden had undergone many botched face lifts and has “really bad hair.” He went on about how revolting Mr. Biden looked in a bathing suit, referring to photos of him sitting shirtless in a beach chair. “You know those chairs are meant for children and old people to lift, and he can’t even lift them,” Mr. Trump jeered.

He repeatedly called Chris Christie, the former New Jersey governor, “a fat pig,” and suggested that Nancy Pelosi might actually be deteriorating faster than Mr. Biden. “She’s not doing too well,” he said buoyantly.

Though everything was going his way, he struck familiarly paranoid notes, telling his listeners (who included several of his grandchildren) about a “sinister plot to defraud the American public” that was being woven by a shadowy establishment that hated them.

 

[ZiprHead]

Axios is reporting that:

Scoop: Schumer open to dumping Biden in 2024​

Pelosi is dropping not-so-subtle hints that Biden needs to reconsider his decision to stay in the race. George Clooney, an influential donor, has called for Biden to drop out.

Attempts to quell the revolt against Biden appear not to be working in his favor, so the chaos continues.

I just saw a press conference with him and all his answer to the question about JB were "I am with Joe." He said it several times.

 

[Patooka]

Funny how Biden is being dragged for his "lack of vitality" despite being quite actively campaigning and keeping a frankly insane schedule since the debate, where Trump has just... disappeared. No appearances, no interviews, nothing, he's just missing. So vigorous!

Trump is the living embodiment of the quote "Absence makes the heart grow fonder"

In Australia we would say "I am glad to see your back. The more I see your back the more I like it"

Nope. Come on, you know most of us would be far more succinct and unambiguous. And it might involve eggs as well.

 

[Copernicus]

Axios is reporting that:

Scoop: Schumer open to dumping Biden in 2024​

Pelosi is dropping not-so-subtle hints that Biden needs to reconsider his decision to stay in the race. George Clooney, an influential donor, has called for Biden to drop out.

Attempts to quell the revolt against Biden appear not to be working in his favor, so the chaos continues.

I just saw a press conference with him and all his answer to the question about JB were "I am with Joe." He said it several times.

Well, the man is a politician, so I guess you can trust his word when he keeps saying that in public over and over. After all, which group would he be more likely to lie to? The public or the people who fund political campaigns?

 

[SLD]

Opinion | George Clooney: I Love Joe Biden. But We Need a New Nominee.

I saw Biden three weeks ago at my fund-raiser for him. It’s devastating to say it, but he is not the same man he was, and he won’t win this fall.

www.nytimes.com

George Clooney calls on him to drop out, noting that Biden is not the man he was 4 years ago. Donors are dropping out seriously. I’m sorry, he toast. The longer the drags on the worse it becomes. Get a new candidate. One from a battleground state if not Harris. Unite behind them, and then go beat that fucker in November. It can be done. But the longer he stays in, the more he has issues, and he will, the worse it will get.

 

[Coleman Smith]

I hope tat he does and soon.

I do not believe he is electiable and I don;'t think it is in the best interest of either the democrat party or the country for him to continue.

 

[Spacetime Inhabitant]

The truth is what’s needed, not a “fresh” candidate. Our problem is that so many in the Trump bubble don’t know the truth.

I wish it were as simple as that, but the truth has been out there in full measure since at least 2016, and polls suggest that over half the country prefers Donald Trump over Joe Biden. It's crazy, but that's the reality. I don't know if it can be fixed, but I do believe that Joe Biden stands less of a chance of fixing it than his VP, who would at least change the dynamic of the election. She is younger, and the party would rally behind her, just as a great many Democrats are still trying to rally behind Joe Biden.

Biden's age-related issues are simply going to be the focus of the campaign from now into the foreseeable future. Republican campaign strategists are having a field day, and they no longer need to rely so much on faked videos and stories. The mainstream news media is taking the issue seriously, regardless of how strongly Democrats rally around Biden. The focus right now is on the Parkinson's disease controversy, which is all over Fox News. The White House at first denied that Biden was examined by the Parkinson's expert who visited the White House on record 8 times in 8 months. Now they are admitting that the specific doctor did examine Biden at the beginning of the year, but they claim he has not been diagnosed with Parkinson's and is not taking medications for the condition. It is a common neurological disorder in the elderly, and Biden's movements can easily be interpreted as consistent with the symptoms. So this is all over Fox News, The Daily Mail, and other rightwing propaganda outlets, who are, of course, saying things like this:

Top neurologist makes bombshell claim that Biden, 81, 'definitely' has Parkinson's disease and reveals the common symptoms he is displaying: 'I could have diagnosed him from across the mall'​

A top neurologist who diagnoses people in shopping malls. Utterly stupid, but some people take these stories seriously.

Here is how a mainstream news outlet reports on the issue in a more balanced way:

I have to reiterate this, polls are unreliable. Even if Biden had Parkinson's (extremely unlikely), it is a condition that does not affect mentality, unlike Trump's dementia.
One of the greatest risks to Biden not winning the election is all these calls for him to step down, and disunity in Democratic Party, which is disloyalty that serves the Republican Party.
Another thing that would help the USA is if the media stopped making dubious claims about Biden and concentrated on revealing much more details of verified facts about Trump's mental and moral deterioration - his lies, his blackouts, his mental incompetence, and so on.

 

[Copernicus]

I have to reiterate this, polls are unreliable. Even if Biden had Parkinson's (extremely unlikely), it is a condition that does not affect mentality, unlike Trump's dementia.
One of the greatest risks to Biden not winning the election is all these calls for him to step down, and disunity in Democratic Party, which is disloyalty that serves the Republican Party.
Another thing that would help the USA is if the media stopped making dubious claims about Biden and concentrated on revealing much more details of verified facts about Trump's mental and moral deterioration - his lies, his blackouts, his mental incompetence, and so on.

But you realize that the calls for Biden to step down will not stop, don't you? There is really nothing to make them stop. Biden will not suddenly get younger and start speaking more coherently. Similarly, you must realize that the disunity is simply not going to disappear. The people calling for Biden to step down are major figures and donors in the Party base, not to mention rank and file Democrats. You say it would help for the media to stop making these damaging claims about Biden and concentrate on Trump, but you must also realize that there is nothing to make them just suddenly do that. The media will focus on what it sees as newsworthy, and people are interested in what is going on with Biden. That's new. Trump is just doing what he always does, so they have no incentive to do that. Biden is not able to shift the narrative, so how is it going to make sense for them to start ignoring the drama surrounding Biden and go back the the same old Trump hubbub. That's just not going to happen, no matter how much Biden supporters wish that it would.

 

[Politesse]

Biden was already remarkably unpopular, for a host of disparate reasons. I think certain factions and constituencies were looking for a reason to hop off the Biden train, and the media moment is giving them an opportunity to put some pressure on the man himself.

Convincing Biden to voluntarily step down won't work, though, and I continue to maintain that if it won't work, it's foolish to fracture what's left of the party over it. I wish Biden would work a little harder to mend fences with and between the complex tangle now gathered under the Democratic tent. You know, do some politicking? Make some concessions. Trade some appointments. Throw his name behind some causes. Get his party back on something equating to the same page. But that gets us back to the thorny issue of whether he has the insight or energy to pull off such a thing.