Democratic insiders say now is “panic time” after a Justice Department report concluded that Joe Biden has “diminished capabilities” and is an “older man with poor memory.”
Behind the scenes, a plan is increasingly being considered to oust the 81-year-old president as the Democrat candidate at the party convention in Chicago in August.
The leading candidates to replace him include California Governor Gavin Newsom and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
”I think it’s time to panic now. Biden should not be our standard bearer,” a former senior Democratic White House official who worked with Biden told Dailtymail.com.
“He looked like a deer caught in the headlights last night. There is not enough gas in the tank for another four and a half years. Eventually, we’ll see more prominent Democrats say the quiet part out loud.
“It is becoming increasingly clear that we have a deeply flawed candidate. Democracy is at stake and this is not a smart path for our party.’
US President Joe Biden reacts angrily as he answers questions about a Justice Department report on his handling of classified documents
This image, included 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 evening, Biden responded furiously to a 388-page report from Justice Department special counsel Robert Hur that found he deliberately kept and shared classified documents, some of which were dumped in his garage.
At one point during a wide-ranging press conference at the White House, he misidentified the president of Egypt as the president of Mexico.
“I think a lot of aspirin was consumed at the Whit House last night. They try to put the toothpaste back in the bottle, but once it’s out, it’s out,” the former official said. “This has brought into public view what was privately acknowledged.
‘It is now starkly black and white in a report from the Ministry of Justice. This is not a partisan hit job.
“We are talking about an extremely dangerous time in the world and he (Biden) has amnesia as events change by the second. “We’ve had two cases in the last week where he’s brought dead European leaders back to life.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom said to be ‘waiting in the wings’ despite saying he would not run against Joe Biden
Many Democrats want former first lady Michelle Obama to replace Joe Biden as the Democrat’s 2024 nominee
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who considered Biden as a potential 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 believe Biden should be the nominee face challenges because some deadlines for registering on state ballots have already passed.
“We’ll probably go to the convention and have to resolve this if Biden hasn’t stepped aside by then,” the former Democratic official said.
“Right now that’s the optimal outcome in terms of how we can change horses mid-race and get someone on board who doesn’t have the vulnerability.”
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 for the air cover to start showing signs that they can intervene.”
This image, included in special counsel Robert Hur’s report, shows notebooks in a filing cabinet under a printer that were seized from President Joe Biden’s home office in Wilmington, Del., on Jan. 20, 2023. search by FBI agents
Others have floated the idea of a run by an even more famous figure like Michelle Obama.
A recent Daily Mail poll found that 60 percent of Americans believe Biden should not run for office again.
An alarming sign for Biden was that 44 percent of Democrats thought it was not too late to replace him as the candidate.
A Democratic congressman told NBC that the Justice Department report was a “nightmare” and that the party was now in a “grim situation.”
Meanwhile, a Biden ally told the network it was “the worst day of his presidency.”