A new report from veteran journalist Seymour Hersh indicates that former President Barack Obama conspired with top Democrats to threaten President Biden with invoking the 25th Amendment if he did not drop out of the race. Vice President Harris reportedly agreed with the idea and gave Democrat leaders “the OK,” Hersh said. Several sources have reportedly told him that internal Democratic efforts to replace Biden really heated up following the president’s disastrous debate performance on June 27.
After several Democrats urged Biden to step down, former President Obama was reportedly “deeply involved” in efforts to replace his former running mate by July 20, according to Hersch. When Biden unexpectedly canceled a Las Vegas campaign event last week, it was speculated that Obama intended to personally urge Biden to step aside.
An anonymous White House official informed Hersch that “the big three”—former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries—were also deeply involved. “On Sunday morning,’ the official told me, with the approval of Pelosi and Schumer, ‘Obama called Biden after breakfast and said, ‘Here’s the deal. We have Kamala’s approval to invoke the 25th Amendment.'” The 25th Amendment stipulates that the president can be removed from office if deemed unfit by the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet. In such a case, the vice president would assume the responsibilities of the White House.
“It was clear at this point,’ the official said, according to Hersch, “that she would get the nod” which is, the support to run for the presidency in the November election. “But Obama also made it clear that he was not going to immediately endorse her. But the group had decided that her work as a prosecutor would help her deal with Trump in a debate.” Barack and Michelle Obama initially chose not to endorse Harris but later offered their endorsement via phone call on Friday.
“The official, who has decades of experience in fundraising, told me that Obama emerged as the strongman throughout the negotiations,” Hersch reported. “He had an agenda and he wanted to seek it through to the end, and he wanted to have control over who would be elected.”
However, a separate report last week claimed that Obama did not quickly and publicly endorse Harris’ presidential campaign, citing his belief that she is unlikely to defeat Donald Trump, according to a source familiar with the Biden family. In the wake of Biden’s abrupt withdrawal from the race and his swift support for Harris, the majority of Democratic leaders have swiftly rallied behind her candidacy. However, Obama stood out as a notable exception thus far, the New York Post reports.
“Obama’s very upset because he knows she can’t win,” the Biden family source told The Post. “Obama knows she’s just incompetent — the border czar who never visited the border, saying that all migrants should have health insurance. She cannot navigate the landmines that are ahead of her. When you are running for president, there are things you can and can’t say.”
“Wait until the debate … She can’t debate. She’s going to put her foot in her mouth about Israel, Palestine, Ukraine. She’s going to say something really stupid,” the source told The Post. “Obama knew this was going to happen, Joe knew this was going to happen. Now she is going to have to answer real questions.”
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