Democratic experts say now is the “time for panic” after a blockbuster Justice Department report concluded that Joe Biden has “diminished faculties” and is an “elderly man with a poor memory.”
Increasingly, behind the scenes, a nuclear option is being considered to unseat the 81-year-old president as the Democratic nominee at the party’s convention in Chicago in August.
Leading candidates to replace him include California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
“I think the time for panic has come. “Biden should not be our standard bearer,” a former senior Democratic White House official, who worked with Biden, told Dailymail.com.
Last night he looked like a deer caught in the headlights. There won’t be enough gas in the tank for another four and a half years. Ultimately, we’ll see more and more prominent Democrats say the quiet part out loud.
‘It is increasingly clear that we have a deeply flawed candidate. “Democracy is at stake and this is not an intelligent path for our party.”
US President Joe Biden reacts angrily as he answers questions about a Justice Department report on its handling of classified documents.
This image, contained in the special counsel’s report, shows President Biden’s garage where classified documents were found in Wilmington, during an FBI search on December 21, 2022.
On Thursday night, Biden responded angrily to a 388-page report by Justice Department special counsel Robert Hur, which found that he intentionally withheld and shared classified documents, some of which were funds dumped in his garage.
At one point during a rambling White House press conference, he misidentified the president of Egypt as the president of Mexico.
“I think a lot of aspirin was consumed last night at the White House, they’re trying to put the toothpaste back in the bottle, but once it’s out, it’s gone,” the former official said. ‘This has brought into public view what was acknowledged privately.
‘It now appears clearly in black and white in a Department of Justice report. This is not a partisan coup.
‘We are talking about an extremely dangerous time in the world and he (Biden) is having these memory lapses as events change second by second. We have had two cases in the last week where he has resurrected dead European leaders.
The governor of the US state of California, Gavin Newsom, is said to be “waiting in the wings”, although he has said he will not run against Joe Biden.
Many Democrats want former first lady Michelle Obama to replace Joe Biden as the 2024 Democratic nominee
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, whom Biden considered a possible running mate, speaks at the SelectUSA Investment Summit, Bay 4, 2023, in Oxon Hill, Maryland.
In those cases, Biden described recent conversations with the late French and German leaders Francois Mitterrand and Helmut Kohl.
Democrats who think Biden should be the nominee face challenges because they have already missed some deadlines to register for state ballots.
“We’ll probably get to the convention and have to figure this out if Biden hasn’t stepped aside by then,” the former Democratic official said.
“At this point, that’s the optimal outcome for how we can change horses mid-career and pair up with someone who doesn’t have that frailty.”
The former official said Newsom, Whitmer and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker had shown strength against Donald Trump’s MAGA movement.
‘These people are waiting in the wings. What they need is air cover to start showing signs that they can intervene.”
This image, contained in special counsel Robert Hur’s report, shows notebooks in a filing cabinet under a printer that were seized at President Joe Biden’s first-floor headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, on Jan. 20, 2023, during a search by FBI agents
Others have floated the idea of a candidacy by an even better-known figure like Michelle Obama.
A recent Daily Mail poll found that 60 percent of Americans believe Biden should not run again.
In an alarming sign for Biden, 44 percent of Democrats were found to think it was not too late to replace him as their candidate.
A Democratic member of Congress told NBC that the Justice Department report was a “nightmare” and that the party was now in a “bleak situation.”
Meanwhile, a Biden ally told the network that it was ‘the worst day of his presidency.’