The Democratic National Committee — though there's nothing democratic about it — is reportedly making moves to nominate President Biden before August's convention to ensure he appears on Ohio's ballot, squash talk of Biden not being the nominee by the time Election Day rolls around in November, and prevent pro-Hamas protestors from upending an in-person roll call.
As Bloomberg reported on Monday:
The Democratic National Committee is considering formally nominating Joe Biden as early as mid-July to ensure that the president is on November ballots, while helping to stamp out intra-party chatter of replacing him after last week’s poor debate performance.
A potential date for Biden’s nomination is July 21, when the Democratic convention’s credentials committee meets virtually, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity. The panel is meeting to finalize procedures before the party’s convention in Chicago starts on Aug. 19.
While it had already been reported that the DNC was likely to pursue a virtual vote to formalize the party's nomination of Biden before a deadline in Ohio before which candidates must be nominated to appear on the Buckeye State's ballots, Bloomberg emphasized that an earlier nomination "could serve another purpose: helping to quell talk of a potential replacement or an open convention following Biden’s cataclysmic debate against Donald Trump."
As Bloomberg reported earlier this year on Democrats' scrambling to ensure Biden is nominated in time to appear on Ohio's ballot, the "virtual process" would "rob Biden of a highly symbolic moment during the convention," but might be worth it to minimize another growing problem for Democrats: its adherents' love affair with Hamas. "A virtual roll call could also allow Biden's campaign to avoid potentially embarrassing floor protests focused on his handling of the Israel-Hamas war, which has highlighted Democratic divisions."
Similar to Biden's 2020 basement-run campaign, his aides and the DNC are working to keep the president hidden and shrouded in a protective bubble with as few unscripted moments as possible. Last week's debate showed again why such off-the-cuff moments are a disaster for Team Biden.
Still, just because Biden has been formally nominated does not likely mean talk of his diminished abilities will suddenly cease. Thanks to the DNC's efforts to essentially rig the 2024 nominating contest, there was little shot for intraparty challengers to make a serious run at besting Biden. Just ask Marianne Williamson, RFK Jr., Dean Phillips, and others. But Biden's fitness remained a question through the show primaries and even after he secured presumptive nominee status. Being officially nominated — especially given the sudden realization by Democrats and mainstream outlets that there might be something up with Ol' Joe — won't change things.
If the DNC moves ahead with its nomination plan for later this month, Biden will formally become his party's nominee little more than one week after his Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump, is sentenced in his felony "hush money" case and just three days after Trump is scheduled to accept the GOP's nomination, Bloomberg noted.
Democratic National Committee is considering formally nominating Biden as early as mid-July to ensure that the president is on November ballots, while helping to stamp out intra-party chatter of replacing him after his poor debate performance, @MarioDParker and @gregorykorte…
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) July 1, 2024