Folks are growing even more concerned about the physical condition of President Joe Biden after he was seen exiting from Air Force One in California a week ago, visibly shaking. Keep in mind this happened at five in the morning east coast time and the commander-in-chief had already been awake for a full 24 hours. That’s difficult to do for anyone his age, let alone someone in a high stress job. It doesn’t matter how you feel about him personally, the man is a human being and clearly isn’t physically able to do this job. As much as we all hate to think of a Kamala Harris presidency, it’s also extremely dangerous for our national security to have a president who is not fit for duty.
A report from The UK’s Daily Mail stated that the president walked down the stairs of the plane very slowly and then struggled to step up into the SUV that was waiting to take him to the ranch in Santa Barbara where the rest of his family just had a week-long vacation. One of the Secret Service agents assigned to his protection detail positioned himself between Biden and the cameras. The same agent then gave him a boost into the vehicle.
On the tarmac, First Lady Jill Biden watched, visibly concerned. For her husband — who dropped out of the election race almost a month ago to the date — had just ended his exhausting journey from Democratic nominee to lame-duck president. Last Monday, Biden had flown in to Chicago to address the first night of the Democratic National Convention. Scheduled to speak at around 10.30pm (ET), the evening was meant to be his swan song, a farewell to the party faithful and a passing of the torch to his Vice President and the new Democratic nominee, Kamala Harris.
A crowded speaking schedule meant that a planned video tribute to the president had to be cut at the last minute — as did the expected performance by James Taylor, one of Biden’s favorite singers — in a desperate bid to get him on stage before midnight. Jill and their daughter Ashley spoke to introduce Biden, with many noting how brief the two women’s remarks seemed to be — though the White House insists neither speech was shortened. Nonetheless, the organisational failure will have done little to help what has been described in recent weeks as the First Lady’s growing feeling of ‘betrayal’ at how the Democratic party has treated her husband.
Earlier in the month, the Daily Mail published an article about how Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the former Speaker of the House, sent Biden a message on June 20 that threatened going public with her concerns about his physical health if he didn’t drop out of the presidential election. The very next day, the president took to X where he shared a letter that confirmed he would be pulling out of the race, before supporting Harris to be his replacement as the Democratic Party presidential nominee.
The Daily Mail says that the ultimatum issued by Pelosi really ticked Biden off. So much so that it’s being said the incident destroyed their almost 50-year friendship. Biden’s family left Chicago immediately after the speech concluded. The flight to California took four hours. During this time, Biden took foreign security briefings, which means it’s highly unlikely he had time to rest.
On Tuesday, the turbulence continued, as Michelle and Barack Obama took the keynote slots in Chicago’s United Center. While Barack lauded his former Vice President with praise, referring to him as his ‘brother’ and thanking him for his service, Michelle notably did not name Biden a single time during her rousing, 23-minute speech. Was it a snub? Insiders say it was — adding that the former First Lady allegedly refused to speak at the convention while Biden was still in the 2024 race.
Buhle has been exiled by the family during a lengthy separation from Hunter dating back to 2017. Michelle never campaigned for Biden when he was the nominee and, sources say, only confirmed her DNC speaking slot after he was out the way.
When Biden was asked by the Daily Mail if he was still angry with Biden, he answered in the negative before saying he hasn’t spoken to her. Given their lengthy history as friends, that’s rather shocking, especially in light of such a massive life-changing decision like dropping from the presidential race.
“However, it is understood that the president has been keen to exact his revenge — namely with his full-throated endorsement of Harris as the new party nominee. Pelosi and Harris are both from California but are not close. When Harris first ran for the state’s attorney general role in 2010, Pelosi endorsed a rival candidate,” the DM article read. After the president called it quits, Pelosi wanted to hold an open convention rather than passing the torch immediately on to Harris, as she’s not at all convinced the vice president is the right choice for the presidency.
A lot of speculation is going around that the president threw his endorsement immediately behind Harris in order to make Pelosi angry or as a means of preventing her from pushing her out of the race the way she did him. As Biden delivered his speech on Monday, the cameras were all locked on Pelosi. She was sitting with the delegation from her state of California, holding a sign that said “We heart Joe” and were mouthing along with chants of “We love you.”
Strangely, Harris was not present on Tuesday evening at the convention, which was the same night the Obamas gave speeches at the event. Instead, she held a campaign rally 90 miles away in the city of Milwaukee. This was allegedly done out of respect for the president according to insiders.
The question on everyone’s mind right now is if all of this inner turmoil will have a negative impact on Harris’s chances of winning in November. In just a few months we’ll find out the answer.