President Joe Biden during the presidential debate at CNN’s studios in Atlanta. (Photo: USA TODAY NETWORK via Reuters)
OUTER BANKS, NORTH CAROLINA — Will Democrats, terrified of losing the White House, dump Joe Biden before their convention in August?
If so, will they nominate Vice President Kamala Harris, who currently has dismal poll numbers of her own?
If not Harris, then to whom would they turn?
Might they turn to Dr. Jill Biden, or to Michelle Obama, wife of former President Barack Obama, as I mused in a column last September?
Or to someone else altogether, like California Governor Gavin Newsom or Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer?
The Biden family huddled together at Camp David over the weekend.
Initial press reports say they have no interest in telling Biden to drop out or hand the “keys to the kingdom,” as it were, to anyone else.
(Photo: Screenshot)
ISRAELIS WATCHING CLOSELY
With the war in Gaza still raging after nine months, and a full-on IDF invasion of Lebanon looking more and more likely, Israeli leaders and rank-and-file citizens are watching an unprecedented situation unfold in the capital of their most important ally.
To an overwhelming number of Americans, President Biden looks too old, unhealthy, and mentally unfit to run for president, especially during Biden’s disastrous debate against former President Donald J. Trump last Thursday.
What’s more, to the vast majority of Americans, Biden looks increasingly incapable of serving as Commander-in-Chief for the next four years.
NEW YORK TIMES CALLS FOR BIDEN TO DROP OUT OF THE RACE
That’s why the New York Times editorial board shocked people around the country and the world by calling on Biden to drop out of the race.
(Photo: Screenshot)
That’s why the cover of TIME magazine this week showed a photo of Biden all alone with the word, “Panic.”
Indeed, despite the First Family’s resistance to the notion of Biden dropping out, top Democratic lawmakers, political strategists, and donors are in sheer panic as they see almost every poll showing Trump leading Biden nationally, and Trump leading in almost every swing state.
Democrats across the country are becoming terrified that Biden isn’t even capable of campaigning for the next four months, much less governing for the next four years.
What’s more, a new Supreme Court decision released Monday severely complicates – and may completely obviate – the prospect of Trump being tried for and convicted on federal felony charges for alleged misconduct in office up to and including Jan. 6.
This appears to further dampen Democrats’ prospects for keeping Trump out of the White House.
TRUMP HAS HIS OWN VULNERABILITIES
Israelis – and America’s moderate Sunni Arab allies – are watching all of this unfold with growing curiosity.
They know that Trump has his own vulnerabilities, having recently been convicted of 34 state-level felony charges in New York State.
Never before has a major presidential candidate run in the United States with a single felony conviction, much less almost three dozen.
And yet, Trump is winning.
It’s Biden – not Trump – who is slipping on the polls.
Throughout the Middle East, people are trying to make sense of what this means and the implications of such anomalies on U.S. foreign policy in the region, especially in a time of war.
STUNNING CBS NEWS POLL
Consider the findings of a stunning new CBS News poll released on Monday.
The poll found that 72% of Americans believe Biden “does not have the mental and cognitive health to serve as President.”
Only 27% of Americans say Biden is up for the job.
This is why 72% of all Americans – Republicans, Independents, and Democrats – believe Biden should not be running for president.
Among registered Democrats alone, only 54% say Biden should stay in the race. That’s down 10 points from February.
Fully 46% of Democrats believe Biden should drop out – that’s up 10 points from February.
For those Americans who say Biden should drop out of the presidential race, the top reasons why include concerns over his age, fears about bad decisions he might make in office, his poor record over the past four years as president, and concerns over his ability to campaign effectively, reported CBS News.
In last Thursday’s debate, Americans believe by a margin of two-to-one or more that Trump did far better presenting his ideas clearly, appearing presidential, inspiring confidence, and explaining his plans and proposals.
Biden received terrible marks in all four of these areas.
Only 18% of Americans, for example, say Biden inspires confidence.
WHERE DO THINGS GO FROM HERE?
“Now what?” Israelis are asking.
Are Democrats about to dump Biden, arguably the most pro-Israel figure in that party?
If they choose someone else, who would that be?
Would he or she be more pro-Israel or less?
Stronger against the Iranian regime or weaker?
Feared by America’s enemies – and Israel’s – or laughed at and ignored?
Democrats have to make a decision soon.
Their convention will be held in Chicago from Aug. 19 through 22.
Big decisions have to be made well before then.
But despite the high stakes, what exactly will happen is anyone’s guess.
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