Democrats had been covertly plotting regarding the previous President Joe Biden to withdraw from the presidential contest Or even "pass away in office" as early as 2023, according to a scathing new book.
Senior party members, headed by the ex-Vice President, Kamala Harris communications director Jamal Simmons developed backup strategies for numerous scenarios ahead of the 2024 election.
One possibility mentioned was "Biden could pass away during his term," as stated by Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes. forthcoming book "Fight: The Most Intense Battle for the White House"
The book states, 'They aimed to ensure that the party was prepared for all potential scenarios should Biden initiate his campaign and subsequently withdraw before the primaries began; or alternatively, if he secured numerous primary victories but became unable to proceed afterward.' according to The Guardian.
'If he obtained sufficient delegates to secure the nomination but withdrew prior to a floor vote at the convention and consequently created an opening at the head of the ticket after accepting the nomination.'
The secretive gatherings centered around what the party guidelines outlined for such scenarios and discussed whether those regulations should be altered, particularly if the president was unwilling or unable to continue their term.
One of the plans they developed was a 'hit list' of judges who might administer the oath of office to Harris if President Harris, aged 81 at the time, were to pass away, according to the book, which references two anonymous sources.
Simmons did not inform the Vice President about the death-pool roster prior to departing her camp in January 2023. However, she suggested to her peers that they should alert him right away if anything occurred to Biden, as he had developed a comprehensive communication plan for such situations, according to the book.
He subsequently handed over the spreadsheet to another assistant working with Harris.
One official participating in confidential discussions emphasized the concern that Biden might not arrive. election As Allen and Parnes pointed out: “This demonstrates the efforts required to adapt under our specific conditions, which involved supporting someone over 80 years old who was seeking office.”
Nevertheless, Biden stayed committed to pursuing a second term, supported by his spouse, the former First Lady Jill Biden—despite this challenge. went through a string of public blunders and mistakes.
But when Biden came face-to-face with Republican nominee Donald Trump During the summertime debate, the president's diminishing mental sharpness became unmistakable.
Following this, ex-President Barack Obama and various dignitaries such as former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, moved forward to attempt persuading Biden to resign.
Simultaneously, they started viewing Harris as the sole option.
"One seasoned agent encapsulated the sentiment of Democrats who were concerned about potentially ending up with Harris but still desired Biden’s departure by stating, 'At least she has a heartbeat,'" Allen and Parnes write in their upcoming book set for release next week.
On July 21, Biden ultimately declared that he would not pursue re-election and threw his support behind Harris to become the party's candidate for president.
Nevertheless, he continued to demand unwavering loyalty from his vice president, as stated in the book.
Nevertheless, it ended up being mostly about safeguarding Biden's legacy, accompanied by a brief three-word caution.
"No daylight, kid," Biden allegedly told the then 59-year-old Harris.
The former president would frequently employed that phrase to link John McCain with George W. Bush before the 2008 election when he was running alongside him. Obama .
Ultimately, Allen and Parnes proposed that regardless of whether Harris triumphed or faltered in her contest against Trump, she would damage him solely by making their separation public. Meanwhile, Biden’s team stayed loyal to her campaign.
At some point, according to the authors, Sean Clegg—a Harris aide not trusted by the Biden team—was assisting the vice president in preparing for an event alongside his running mate, Tim Walz. During this preparation, she began enumerating various achievements they had both made together.
According to the book, Clegg swiftly intervened.
"Wait, wait, wait! Let’s not do this. Let’s avoid revisiting old times," Clegg stated, as mentioned in an earlier publication excerpt. The Hill .
Regarding this comment, Clegg was apparently barred from attending future media preparation sessions by veteran Democratic communication strategist Stephanie Cutter.
Aides for Harris have alleged that the Biden campaign intentionally refrained from collaborating with them due to the president deciding to step down.
Previously, Biden was blamed by senior Harris advisor David Plouffe for her loss because he refused to drop out of the race sooner.
He asserted that no Democratic nominee could have triumphed without an appropriate primary process—a mistake he referred to as 'the cardinal sin' of the campaign.
He mentioned that he was surprised by the internal poll results once he eventually became part of the team. Biden left with fewer than four months remaining, a circumstance he termed "disastrous."
"When I entered, it was the first time I actually saw the figures behind the scenes, and they were quite horrifying," he shared with The Atlantic.
Ultimately, Harris and Walz lost all of the battleground states to Trump resulting in a decisive Electoral College victory.
This was the first time since 2004 that a Democrat ticket lost the popular vote, making it only the second occurrence since 1988.
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