In the wake of Joe Biden's debate implosion, there's a lot of panic going on in the Democratic Party.
CNN's John King encapsulated it on Thursday night:
“VERY AGGRESSIVE PANIC IN THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY!” pic.twitter.com/yE0vbKiClJ
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) June 28, 2024
"Very aggressive panic," he termed it.
In the immediate wake of the debate, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) spoke with Ben Ferguson on their podcast, "The Verdict," about the debacle.
As Rebecca Downs at our sister site Townhall reported:
Cruz agreed with King that "Joe Biden did unbelievably badly, that the degree of dementia he is facing right now, it has escalated to a point that it is unrecognizable," adding "I think there are a great many Democrats who are looking at this saying 'we cannot nominate this man, he is not capable, he doesn't know what's going on.'"
Cruz thought former President Donald Trump did very well and let Biden "hang himself."
Trump was also "restrained, even as Biden was saying ridiculous things. He was restrained, he was calm, he was matter of fact; he prosecuted the case. And Biden couldn't handle it. Biden repeatedly was screaming, 'you're a liar, you're lying!'"
While Trump was restrained, Biden couldn't stop going off and screaming about Trump being a liar. That didn't go over well; it looked freaky and desperate.
Cruz pointed out the terrible numbers for Kamala Harris; he said they'd lose if they made her the nominee, but they face a dilemma if they try to push her to the side for someone like California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Cruz spoke about the theory that Biden would be replaced. In the wake of the debate, he thinks the likelihood has skyrocketed from his prior prediction of a 50 percent chance.
The senator offered "I have to say we have just witnessed what I believe is the most consequential presidential debate in U.S. history," reminding "sometimes debates change things, sometimes they don't." In this case, Cruz believe's the debate "changed things fundamentally."
"I believe the odds have now skyrocketed, I believe the odds are north of 80 percent that the Democrat Party will remove Joe Biden from the ticket and replace him," Cruz explained. "And I believe they are likely to replace Joe Biden with Michelle Obama because Biden did so disastrously badly tonight, that Democrats across the country are in utter freefall and complete panic."
He said Michelle Obama was the only person who they could put in and move Kamala to the side:
Debate Fallout: Michelle Obama WILL
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) June 28, 2024
Replace Joe Biden on the Ballot. @benfergusonshow and I make our prediction following Biden’s disastrous debate performance last night. https://t.co/FwFpiKNhS8
While Cruz said he had previously predicted they might try to swap out Biden in August, he thinks they might move it up to July.
There are a couple of problems, he acknowledged.
"The impediments are twofold. Number one Michelle says no, number two Joe Biden says no," he explained. "On the Michelle says no, I think you're gonna have Barack coming to her, I think you're gonna have a lot of Democrat kingmakers coming to her and the pitch is gonna be 'Michelle, you need to save America. Michelle, we need you. Michelle, if you do not step forward, Donald Trump is going to be president. Michelle, you are the only person on planet earth that can save the world from a Donald Trump presidency.'"
Now, Michelle Obama as a candidate might get more votes than Biden.
But as Cruz notes, she's likely more left than her husband. Plus, her experience is being a politician's wife for years. She'd be a horrible choice, and I don't think she would be as popular as Democrats may think. In the wake of how much Democrats have messed up under Biden, I don't think Americans necessarily want to sign aboard for what would be the third term of Barack Obama (or the fourth, if you believe he's running Biden's administration now).
I also think Cruz is right to note the impediments because I don't think Obama wants the job. She said in March she wouldn't be running and would support Biden, although that certainly could change. She likes the power and the fame. But I don't think all the requirements of the job appeal to her. She doesn't want to be hooked into the job for four years. At this point, they really would need to make a great offer to Joe Biden/Jill Biden to move them to the side. Right now, Jill seems to want to hold on with an iron grasp; she simply doesn't want to give it up.
We shall see in the next couple of months. But what we already know is that Democrats, with all their game-playing to hold onto control, have certainly boxed themselves into a corner here. They're desperately searching for a way out before they suffer one heck of a loss.
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