PLEASE GO JOE
Anti-Biden network of Democrats labeled ‘committee to unelect the president’ using 5 strategies to force him to withdraw
There are several ways Biden could be removed from the race
WITH the November Presidential election just months away, many well-connected Democrats are banding together to kick President Joe Biden off the ticket.
The group of Democrats, who have all reportedly worked on past campaigns as well as the Obama and Clinton administrations, have been dubbed the unofficial Committee to Unelect the President by the founders of Axios.
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As Biden has faced multiple tumultuous weeks following his first debate with former President Donald Trump, the founders have been speaking with key players in both the Republican and Democratic parties for their “Behind the Curtain” column.
While Biden and Trump remain fairly close together in the polls, the incumbent has been facing calls to step down as his age and capacity to win has caused some concern.
On Friday, Axios founders Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen revealed that a group of “very-connected Democrats” is seeking to prevent Biden from being named the party’s nominee during the Democratic National Convention in August.
The unofficial committee to unelect is reportedly looking to get Biden to withdraw from the race himself as soon as possible.
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To ensure this, the group of Democratic insiders is reportedly taking five steps:
- Commissioning polls
- Lobbying former presidents
- Back-channeling Democratic leaders
- Organizing donors
- Pressuring Biden publicly
These efforts appear to be widespread, with the anti-Biden democrats being made up of former aides to the Obama Administration, advisors in the Clinton administration, Democratic members of the Senate and House, high-profile donors, late-night show hosts, prominent opinion columnists, as well as aides within the Biden White House.
A top player in the unofficial committee told Axios that there is no top command in the efforts to oust Biden, as all those involved have deep ties to past presidents.
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“No one is more than one person away from everyone else,” the source said.
Joe Biden calls Trump his VP in mix-up with Kamala Harris – seconds before hitting back at questions about Putin gaffe
As part of this pressure campaign, sources told Axios that some top donors are looking to shift their funds away from the president and instead toward Congressional races.
Other measures have included speaking out on television or social media as well as speaking with journalists or columnists, according to the report.
Actor and long-time Biden supporter George Clooney recently made a public call for Biden to step down, writing in the New York Times that the party needed a new nominee.
"I consider him a friend, and I believe in him. Believe in his character. Believe in his morals. In the last four years, he’s won many of the battles he’s faced," Clooney wrote of Biden.
“But the one battle he cannot win is the fight against time. None of us can. It’s devastating to say it, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fund-raiser was not the Joe 'big F-ing deal' Biden of 2010.
"He wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate."
Calls to Withdraw
As a group of top Democratic players are banding together to keep President Biden off the ticket in November, many high profile names have publically called on the president to step away from the race.
George Clooney
- "I love Joe Biden. As a senator. As a vice president and as president," Clooney wrote for The New York Times. "I consider him a friend, and I believe in him. Believe in his character. Believe in his morals. In the last four years, he’s won many of the battles he’s faced. But the one battle he cannot win is the fight against time. None of us can."
James Carville
- The former Clinton aide recently told CNN that keeping Biden as the nominee would be "an idiotic choice for the future of this country."
David Axelrod
- "President Biden is a historic figure, and a lot of that is gonna be tainted if he persists and loses this race," the former Obama chief strategist told Axios.
Stephen King
- "Joe Biden has been a fine president, but it’s time for him—in the interests of the America he so clearly loves—to announce he will not run for re-election," King wrote on X.
NYTimes Editorial Board
- "President Biden clearly understands the stakes. But he seems to have lost track of his own role in this national drama," the editorial board wrote earlier this week. "As the situation has become more dire, he has come to regard himself as indispensable. He does not seem to understand that he is now the problem — and that the best hope for Democrats to retain the White House is for him to step aside."
George Stephanopoulos
- "I don’t think he can serve four more years," Stephanopoulos said on the streets of New York City
Some have also pointed to the lack of comments from former President Barack Obama and Bill Clinton as a point of pressure.
Both former presidents issued a statement of support for Biden immediately following the debate, however, they have yet to reiterate that since.
“Silence is a very loud form of speech,” top Clinton strategist James Carville told Axios.
“No one is saying ‘come hell or high water.’”
At the same time, reports have indicated that Obama has expressed concerns about Biden's ability to win to top Democrats like former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
GROWING CONCERNS
News of this growing group of Democrats seeking to oust Biden comes just one day after the president made several jaw-dropping gaffes during the NATO summit in Washington D.C.
Speaking to a large crowd on Thursday, Biden began to introduce Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky but accidentally called him by the name of Russian President Vladimir Putin who has terrorized Ukraine for over two years.
"Now I want to hand over to the President of Ukraine, who has as much courage as he has determination. Ladies and gentlemen, President Putin,” Biden said.
The president attempted to recover by saying, “Going to beat President Putin, President Zelensky.”
Later that same day, Biden mixed up the name of his vice president, Kamala Harris.
How could Biden be removed from race?
Calls for Joe Biden to end his reelection campaign have mounted since his poor presidential debate night performance on June 27
After the debate, the 81-year-old president's cognitive health concerns were once again a pressing topic among news outlets and his allies in the Democratic Party.
What has Joe Biden said about his future in the race?
- Biden has remained defiant and shot down calls for him to step aside in the upcoming presidential election.
- The Biden administration was forced to deny reports that the president confided to a close ally that he is considering withdrawing from the race.
- In a July 5 interview with ABC News, Biden said that "no one is more qualified" to win the race than him, adding only the "Lord Almighty" could convince him to resign.
- On July 8, Biden sent a scathing letter to Congressional DNC members who have called on him to step down.
- "I want you to know that despite all the speculation in the press and elsewhere, I am firmly committed to staying in this race, to running this race to the end, and to beating Donald Trump," the president wrote.
- Biden proceeded to slam "elites" in a live interview with MSNBC, daring any challenger to run against him.
How could Joe Biden be removed from the ballot?
- Since the June 27 debate night, a growing number of Congressional Democrats have called on Biden to end his reelection campaign.
- So far, five out of the 213 DNC members in Congress have publicly called for Biden to quit the race.
- As Biden continues to emphasize his status in the upcoming election, many are wondering whether the 25th Amendment should be used to oust him.
What is the 25th Amendment?
- The 25th Amendment of the Constitution states the vice president shall replace a president if they die in office or resign or if members of the president's cabinet declare the president is unable to fulfill the duties of their office.
- Labor Secretary Julie Su, who would need to invoke the 25th Amendment, called the idea "absurd."
When speaking with a journalist, Biden said, “I wouldn’t have picked vice-president Trump to be vice-president if she wasn’t qualified.”
The blunders have gone viral on social media, causing many to speculate if the president will indeed withdraw from the race.
But some experts say Biden needs to be replaced even sooner.
Former British Army colonel Richard Kemp exclusively told The Sun that Biden needs to be replaced from office as soon as possible.
“He's not in a fit state to be leading the world's greatest superpower, perhaps the world's only superpower.”
For weeks Biden has insisted he has no plans to step down in the race against Trump.
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On Thursday he affirmed that he believes he is the “best qualified” to match up against the former president.
However, Biden did say that he would step aside for Harris to replace him if his team told him he can't not win.