Staff Reports
President Biden has officially thrown in the towel for his presidential run. Before making the decision, he had publicly laid out only three reasons that would compel him to step aside: divine intervention, a serious health issue, or an acknowledgment from his team that he was destined to lose. Unsurprisingly, the White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre quickly deflected when pressed about Biden’s reasons for exiting, assuring reporters that it had nothing to do with health matters. Naturally, she declined to elaborate further—classic politician maneuvers.
The truth about Biden’s abrupt departure may be a bit less noble. According to campaign co-chair Cedric Richmond, the real culprit behind Biden’s exit was the financial backing—or lack thereof. Apparently, big donors pulled their support after his underwhelming performance in the June 27 debate, effectively creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. Richmond threw shade on those contributors, lamenting that without their cash, Biden’s candidacy was essentially DOA. In his eyes, it seems that a president who has “accomplished so much” deserved a little more loyalty from his financial supporters, instead of being tossed aside like a broken toy.
Karine Jean-Pierre is asked what the reason behind Joe Biden dropping was since he said that the only things that could sway him were “the Lord Almighty, a medical condition and if his team showed him that he could not win” pic.twitter.com/OOdIvxg3Qi
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) July 25, 2024
As Biden’s campaign crumbled, Richmond called upon these fair-weather donors to step up and rally behind Vice President Kamala Harris. One can’t help but chuckle at the irony; the same group that helped push Biden out is now being told to financially back his second-in-command, as if that was ever going to happen naturally. It’s like a “found your new favorite” slogan that nobody actually wanted to adopt.
The fundraising machine is already kicking into high gear for Harris, proving that where there’s a will (and a whole lot of cash), there’s a way. No longer morose and pouting post-Biden, Democratic donors seem eager to throw their support behind Harris, who has reportedly amassed an impressive $130 million, with cash rolling in not just from small-time donors but also from the big sharks of the financial world. This is the kind of political financial flip that begs for a meme or two, particularly with the Harris Victory Fund now taking center stage.
It’s an interesting turn of events when one considers that only days before Biden’s departure, major fundraisers were warning that only a quarter of the donors would be open to supporting him. Yet after Harris’s announcement, those same fundraisers are now overwhelmed with interest. Looks like the ‘Biden Bandwagon’ was a one-way trip, and now the drivers are trying desperately to hop onto the ‘Harris Express’ before it leaves the station. Who knew political loyalty could change so quickly on a dime—or in this case, a big check?
