Tipsheet

No Longer a Conspiracy: There Is a Dem 'Committee to Unelect the President'

Matt Vespa
Matt Vespa  |  July 13, 2024 6:00 AM

It knew megadonors and Hill Democrats wanted Joe Biden gone. That alone is enough to cause a lot of friction and heartburn among the ranks. It could also make things very bloody for Democrats, especially if Democratic governors were on the other end of this fight over the viability of Joe Biden’s candidacy, which was hurled into doubt after his abysmal debate with Donald Trump.

Now, Hollywood liberals have decided to jump ship, with added whispers of former President Barack Obama working loosely behind the scenes to nudge his former vice president into bowing out for the good of the party and country. Obama supposedly knew the damning op-ed penned by George Clooney, which called on Biden to exit the race, was coming. He didn’t encourage it but didn’t try to stop the actor from slamming Biden. There are many forces at work trying to do something to get Biden off the ticket, though every development has only led to the president, and by that, I mean Jill, to dig in further. Axios has been prolific in documenting the chaos in the White House, the mental breakdowns on the campaign team, and now the forces working to dump the president. It’s ironic, but there is a vast left-wing conspiracy to remove Biden: 

The committee includes: 

Former Obama aides: The strained relationship between Obama and Biden extends to their former aides, including David Axelrod (Obama's ruthlessly pragmatic chief strategist) and the influential "Pod Save America" guys. Biden has reportedly called Axelrod a "prick," and threw shade at him — "Oh! You're kidding" — during Monday's call-in on "Morning Joe." The pod guys — Obama alumni Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, Tommy Vietor and Dan Pfeiffer — have irritated Biden's camp by arguing for a new candidate. Lovett writes that it's "hard to deny that in the two weeks since the debate, it's the arrogant and small Joe Biden we've seen most." 

Former Clinton advisers: Carville, appearing all over the cable dial, says unsparingly that a new candidate is inevitable, whether the president admits it or not. Keeping him would be "an idiotic choice for the future of this country," Carville told Anderson Cooper on CNN. 

Elected Dems: Massive pressure is building from rank-and-file members of the Democratic caucus. One Democratic senator (Peter Welch of Vermont) and 17 House Democrats have publicly called for Biden to drop out. Scores more are furious at the White House for pushing them to support a president they view as unelectable. 

Swing-seat Dems: This is the group that really matters. Vulnerable Democrats have a clear-eyed view of the president's prospects. These Dems will abandon him — some already have — if they sense their seats are in jeopardy. 

The donor class: George Clooney, who headlined the largest fundraiser in Democratic Party history last month, is the leading voice of a growing number of Hollywood types who want Biden to end his candidacy. The group includes Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings and Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel (Rahm's brother). 

Late-night liberals: Stephen Colbert — who moderated a major Biden fundraiser at Radio City in March — strongly suggested the president should step aside: "I think that Biden debated as well as Abraham Lincoln, if you dug him up right now." Jon Stewart has escalated pleas for the nominee to be someone else. He hosted Favreau and Vietor on his podcast yesterday. 

N.Y. Times Opinion: Debate-night columns by Tom Friedman and Nick Kristoff gave way to full-throated editorials — all saying Biden must go. 

Biden aides busily leaking: "Some longtime aides and advisers to President Biden," the N.Y. Times reports, "have become increasingly convinced that he will have to step aside from the campaign, and in recent days they have been trying to come up with ways to persuade him that he should." 

Between the lines: Two prominent ex-Biden aides — former White House communications director Kate Bedingfield and press secretary Jen Psaki — have suggested Harris as a promising alternative. 

At a glance, one would think these factions would provide enough firepower to dislodge Biden, at least make him reconsider. Yet, the president has retreated into the bunker, where his inner circle is comprised of family members and ‘yes’ men. They have established an SS-Gestapo-like police state within 1600 Penn., warning that any staffer who goes against the ‘Biden is totally healthy’ narrative would be beaten. Any criticism is considered a sign of disloyalty. 

It also comes to show you how powerful this institution is despite it being managed by a man who’s in the throes of a severe mental decline. The bully pulpit is supreme here. But there was also the added factor that no one on this ‘committee’ really pushed hard, either in public or behind the scenes. It was very much paralysis by analysis, with no one wanting to make the first move.