As my colleague Nick Arama reported, it's been a whisper campaign of epic proportions regarding Barack Obama's feelings about Vice President Kamala Harris and her chances of winning the 2024 election. Expect these whispers and leaks to continue up to the convention, and possibly beyond. There's a revenge tour going on, most likely engineered by First Lady Jill Biden. According to one article, the Bidens never really forgave Obama for pushing Joe aside in 2016 in favor of Hillary Clinton, and there is even more bitterness over Biden being forced into one-term presidency status.
Biden’s feelings were raw for years after Obama effectively chose Hillary Clinton over his VP in 2016. And though it played out much more quietly, both of them also still remember their achingly uncomfortable run-up to 2020 — its negotiations, its tip-toeing around personal and political sensitivities and its Obaman interests in candidates not named Joe — all too well.
"Lady MacBiden" loves the power and the prestige of being in the White House and is no doubt pissed that former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Obama tag-teamed to remove her husband from running for a second term. In February, presidential historian Douglas Brinkley appeared on CBS News' "Face the Nation" alluded to this, and actually said Jill Biden was the driving force that convinced him to run for that second term.
WATCH:
During President Joe Biden's Wednesday Oval Office speech, which basically said not much of anything, Jill Biden released a handwritten note that she allegedly wrote for supporters.
The First Lady has released a note to supporters:
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) July 25, 2024
“To those who never wavered, to those who refused to doubt, to those who always believed, my heart is full of gratitude.
Thank you for the trust you put in Joe — now it’s time to put that trust in Kamala.
Love,
Jill” pic.twitter.com/DW0ywHlVur
Her words drip with venom. Because for those who did waver and were a part of throwing her husband under the bus, there will be hell to pay—probably at the Democrat National Convention in August. There is even more scuttlebutt that Obama never wanted VP Kamala Harris to be at the top of the ticket, and Biden's instant endorsement of her was another way to stick it to Obama.
A source close to the Biden family has alleged that Obama was 'shocked' that the President endorsed Harris so quickly and is 'furious' about the situation.
'Obama's very upset because he knows she can't win,' the insider 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.'
The source went on to allege that Obama would instead like to see Arizona Senator and former astronaut Mark Kelly 'at the top of the ticket' at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago next month.
According to former felon and Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, Obama still plans to stage a coup to push our Harris.
I’ve known Obama since 1995. We both come out of Chicago politics. I know how it works. He’s behind the campaign to dump 15 million Dem primary voters & replace Biden with his choice. Classic Chicago Democrat machine politics. Selection over election. The bosses over the people. pic.twitter.com/5ibvaX9IzP
— Rod Blagojevich (@realBlagojevich) July 21, 2024
Other sources deny this and say he will endorse Harris as soon as Thursday and even plans to campaign with her.
The people familiar with the discussions didn’t know the precise timing of his endorsement. One of them said Obama didn’t want it to overshadow President Joe Biden’s moment, particularly his Oval Office address to the nation Wednesday night.
Another person familiar with the discussions said Obama and Harris, who is seeking to maintain the momentum her campaign has enjoyed among Democrats since she entered the race, wanted his endorsement to stand as its own moment.
Expect these whispers and counter-narratives to increase and possibly grow louder, and expect the DNC to have some unprogrammed moments. On Wednesday, the DNC Rules Committee got on a Zoom call to approve the process of a "virtual roll call vote" to confirm Kamala Harris as their 2024 nominee rather than the formal roll call on the convention floor.
The new rules also note that there will still be a state-by-state roll call for the Democratic ticket at the Chicago convention but described those votes as “celebratory and ceremonial.”
As if that will appease the voters who have been de-democratized by the party that is supposed to be saving democracy from Donald Trump. Just because they changed the rules to fit Harris' ascension doesn't mean that everyone will play along.
Get your popcorn ready.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member