Joe Biden’s chances of being the next Democratic presidential candidate have plummeted since the report on his mishandling of classified documents warned of his “diminished facilities” last week.
The president had a 73.3 percent chance of being the Democratic nominee in the November race the day before special counsel Robert Hur released his stunning report Thursday.
Now that figure has plummeted to just 60 percent, according to betting averages compiled by Real Clear Politics, giving a boost to potential candidates Michelle Obama, Gavin Newsom and Kamal Harris.
Hur spent five hours interviewing the 81-year-old president about why classified documents were found scattered around his home in Wilmington, Delaware, before concluding that a jury was unlikely to convict a “well-intentioned old man with a bad memory.”
Biden was scathing about the report and Hur’s claim that the president couldn’t remember when his son Beau died, asking: ‘How the hell dare you bring that up?’ I don’t need anyone, I don’t need anyone, to remind me when he passed away.
Joe Biden’s chances of being the next Democratic presidential candidate have plummeted since the report on his mishandling of classified documents warned of his “diminished facilities” last week. Pictured: the president with first lady Jill Biden and her late son Beau
Former first lady Michelle Obama speaks at the opening ceremony of the US Open tennis championship on August 28.
California Governor Gavin Newsom (right) appears with San Francisco 49ers CEO Jed York in Las Vegas on Saturday night as the couple attended a Super Bowl party.
His wife, Jill Biden, came to her husband’s defense over the weekend, saying the claims were made “to score political points.”
“Believe me, like anyone who has lost a child, Beau and his death never leave you,” the First Lady said in a statement shared by an X campaign account.
There was more bad news from the betting markets for the Bidens, with bettors concluding that the president has just a 27 percent chance of winning the election, compared to Donald Trump’s 43.4 percent.
The president had a 13-point lead over the Republican front-runner in June of last year, but saw that lead collapse when Trump faced a series of high-profile court cases.
President Biden gave fuel to his critics at a hastily arranged press conference after the report’s release, suggesting that Mexico’s president had opened his country’s border with the Gaza Strip.
“I think, as you know, initially the president of Mexico, El-Sisi, did not want to open the door for humanitarian material to come in,” he said, actually referring to the president of Egypt.
‘I spoke with him. I convinced him to open the door.
Special prosecutor Robert K. Hur (pictured) concluded that Biden should not be charged with mishandling classified documents, but only because a jury would not convict him because he would appear as “a sympathetic, well-intentioned old man with a bad memory.” ‘
Although the report did not recommend filing charges, it provided a cascade of damaging conclusions about the files found in Biden’s garage, as well as the president’s fitness for office.
In interviews with investigators, Biden was confused about the dates he was vice president. Hur said his attitude toward classified documents, such as his habit of reading confidential files to a ghostwriter, posed a significant risk to national security.
Last week, Biden forgot the name of the terrorist organization Hamas.
‘There is some movement, and I don’t want, I don’t want, let me choose my words, there is some movement. There’s been a response of, uh, there’s been a response from the opposition, but um…’ Biden, 81, said at a news conference.
At that moment, a journalist intervenes and tells the commander in chief: ‘Yes, I’m sorry. From Hamas.
Days earlier he referred to French President Emmanuel Macron as Francois Mitterrand, the country’s former leader who died 28 years ago.
On Wednesday he confused the late German leader Helmut Kohl with former Chancellor Angela Merkel.
“Joe is 81 years old, that’s true, but he is 81 years old and he does more in an hour than most people do in a day,” the First Lady said in her statement.
‘He has fulfilled many of his promises as president precisely because he has learned a lot in those 81 years.
“His age, experience and knowledge are an incredible asset and he proves it every day.”
Biden has claimed victory in both Democratic primaries so far against his only remaining declared challenger, Rep. Dean Phillips. However, the report has stoked fears about his age among some.
Betting markets see Michelle Obama as the favorite to succeed Biden as the Democratic nominee, but she is still far behind with just a 15 percent chance.
Barack Obama’s former First Lady said she was “terrified” about the upcoming election in an interview last month, warning that people were “taking democracy for granted.”
She has professed loyalty to Biden, but former Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said Hur’s report creates a “convenient path” for Democrats to nominate the former first lady.
Democrats would stick with Kamala Harris, while independents like Michelle Obama would stick if Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 race.
JL Partners asked 1,000 likely voters who they would like to see take over the Republican nomination if Trump were to resign. Republicans said Ron DeSantis, independents opted for Nikki Haley
“It’s looking more and more like Biden won’t be the nominee, and I think we shouldn’t be surprised to see someone like Michelle Obama take on the nominating role,” Ramaswamy told Fox New Digital.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has a 9.8 percent chance of being the RCP Democratic nominee, ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris at 7.4 percent.
Both have ruled out seeking the job, but Newsom was hobnobbing with potential high-profile supporters in Las Vegas last night ahead of tonight’s Super Bowl.
Results from a Daily Mail/JL Partners poll found Harris has a narrow five-point lead over Obama as Democrats’ first choice to replace Biden should the president leave office.