LOS ANGELES.–Interviewed on CBS News today, 81-year-old President Joe Biden wanted to set the record straight for why he quit the 2024 presidential race July 21 under heavy pressure from Democrat Party bosses. Biden spoke from the Oval office July 24, saying nothing different than what he told the public in a nationwide speech. Biden was hounded out of the race after the June 27 CNN debate with 78-year-old President Donald Trump where he looked incoherent, plagued with memory and cognitive problems. Biden and his PR team have spent years hiding his cognitive impairments from the public with the help of his 59-year-old Vice President Kamala Harris, who, only one day before Biden quit, vouched for him telling the public that Biden was sharp as a tack, with no signs of memory or cognitive problems. Now the Democrat presumptive nominee, Kamala also lets her PR team do the talking.
Kamala was named Biden’s successor immediately but has not spoken with the public except heavily scripted campaign events. Kamala learned well from Biden that she can let her PR piece together sound bites and snippets in fabricated campaign ads to deliver her message. Now questioned by the press why she’s held no press events, Kamala say she’ll speak with the press but only after the July 19 DNC convention in Chicago. Biden told CBS political correspondent Robert Costa that he originally thought he would be a transitional figure in 2020 when he ran against Trump, not seeking a second term. But Biden gave no indication that he would not run again, stating emphatically that he would seek a second term because he was the best one to beat Trump in November. Biden went through all the Democrat primaries winning 14 million votes to lead the party for reelection.
Biden had zero intent to step aside, insisting that he was the most qualified person in the Democrat Party to run against Trump. When Biden spoke to the nation July 24, he said he was stepping aside for the good of the party and the country, but didn’t say why. Up to that point, Biden insisted he was the best Democrat candidate to beat Trump, even though his polls cratered after the June 27 CNN debate. Biden July 24 speech gave no clear explanation for why he dropped out the race. Several prominent Democrats, including 63-year-old former President Barack Obama and 84-year-old former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), hounded Biden to quit. Obama and Pelosi showed Biden polls that had him losing to Trump, but, more importantly, he threatened to drag down the entire party, losing the House and Senate to Republicans. Biden reluctantly quit the 2024 race.
Biden tried different excuses as long as they mentioned nothing about his memory and cognitive impairments. After the June 27 debate, Republicans questioned whether Biden should finish his term as president, knowing he had to step down from the 2024 race. But Biden’s PR team continued to gaslight the public about the real reasons for him stepping down. Everyone watching the debate knew Biden was not fit to continue as president, let alone seek four more years. Yet Biden has done everything to deny the real reasons behind him stepping down. “When It ran the first time, I thought of myself as being a transition president,” Biden told Costa. “I can’t even say how old I am—it’s hard for me to get it out of my mouth,” making a feeble excuse why he dropped out. Biden already rejected his past statements to the press about serving only one term, giving every excuse possible why he was the best one in the party to run against Trump.
Costa did nothing in the interview to challenge Biden’s excuses, especially since he fought like a dog for nearly a month to stay in the race. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), only one day before Biden quit, told the Democrat Party to stop “bickering,” that Biden would be the nominee of the Democrat Party. “We must, we must, we must defeat Trump,” Biden told Costa in the White House Treaty room. Biden didn’t say what led to his decision to drop out. Biden was fully exposed to 70 million viewers that he was not fit for president or to run for a second term. Yet he pretends it was his idea all along to drop out and hand the race to his successor Kamala Harris. After the June 27 debate, every White House strategist insisted Biden would be the Democrat Party nominee. There was no talk of Biden being “a transitional president,” that he was the best possible Democrat candidate to beat Trump.
Biden ended his bid for second term reluctantly when he was exposed for having memory and cognitive impairments. When former Special Counsel Robert Hur issued his report Feb. 5 on Biden’s two days of interviews with the Special Counsel, he indicated Biden suffered from severe memory impairments, unable to recall when he was Vice President or when his son Beau died of brain cancer. “Although it’s a great honor to be president, I think I have an obligation to the country to do what I—most important thing you can do. And that is—we must, we must, we must defeat Trump,” sounding less coherent again. Biden had Democrats and the press covering up his memory and cognitive impairments for years, deliberately keeping his contact with the press to a minimum. Now Costa continues the charade, letting Biden gaslight the public about the real reason he called it quits.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
