'They're gonna say this is the new Watergate’ - will Republicans accuse the Democratic Party of being complicit in a cover up?
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“I do think the White House has covered it up... And I think that there is a problem there that Kamala Harris, as VP, did nothing to call it out at any moment.”
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In brief…
President Biden has dropped out of the US Presidential race after mounting pressure due to concerns about his cognitive abilities.
- Questions are being raised about whether the Democratic Party, including Vice President Kamala Harris, was complicit in covering up Biden's cognitive decline before it became publicly evident.
- Republicans are expected to use this situation to attack not only Biden but the entire Democratic Party, potentially framing it as a cover-up scandal and questioning Biden's fitness to serve his current term.
It’s happened. Biden has dropped out of the US Presidential race, after weeks of mounting pressure.
Some big questions now remain, the most obvious, of course, is ‘who will be the new democratic nominee?’
But the question Republicans will ask, and the one that could plague Kamala Harris' campaign if she is the answer to the first question, is this: Has the Democratic Party been complicit in a cover-up of sorts?
Joe Biden pulls out of the presidential race: 'It was unwinnable'
Since that disastrous TV debate between Biden and Trump last month, it’s been obvious to the general public that Biden’s cognitive abilities were seriously questionable. Some tried to blame it on jetlag, on tiredness, on a bad night… but as US voters sat on their couches watching Biden refer to Zelensky as Putin and Harris as Trump during the Nato summit this month, it became clear that there were no excuses left - Biden’s age had got the better of him.
One by one, senior Democrats, party donors and ex-officials began to speak up. There were reports that Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi had privately expressed concerns. Maybe it was George Clooney who broke the camel’s back. Maybe it was the donations drying up. It was most probably all of it.
But at what point did all of these officials, all of these highly influential people, and most notably now, Kamala Harris, realise that Biden was not fit to serve another term? Can Biden’s cognitive abilities be categorised as pre-debate and post-debate, or were they all complicit in covering up his decline long before?
“I do think the White House has covered it up,” Jon asked on yesterday’s emergency episode of The News Agents, following the news that Biden had dropped out. “I do think the White House has not been frank and candid about the state of the President's health. And I think that there is a problem there that Kamala Harris, as VP, did nothing to call it out at any moment.”
Jon Sopel questions whether the White House covered up concerns about Joe Biden’s health.
Being so close to Biden, and therefore so acutely aware of his cognitive decline, leaves Harris with an obstacle almost before her presidential campaign has even begun.
“There is a question that is difficult for her [Harris] I think, which is, what did you know and when did you know it? When did you know that Joe Biden was cognitively impaired?” Jon asks.
As the Republicans now pivot their campaign strategy, or more to the point, the target of their attacks, this will surely be their first point of call.
“The Republicans are already going to try and make this not just into a crisis of confidence about Biden, but about the Democratic Party itself. They're gonna say this is the new Watergate - the cover up to end all cover ups,” Lewis predicts.
But the potential ‘cover up’ isn’t the only attack line open to the Republican’s now. Emily points out: “The line that we've already had from Trump this evening, is calling Biden crooked Joe Biden, saying that he's not fit to run for presidency, certainly that he's not fit to serve. I.e., why is he still going on till January, if he can't stand for the candidacy?”
And so, the campaign to end Biden might not be over with his announcement that he’s dropped out of the presidential race.
“You've already had speaker Mike Johnson, Republican saying tonight that, frankly, if he's not healthy enough, and cognitively able enough to be president in four years time or to run again, then he shouldn't be president now” Lewis says, adding “and that's going to be the Republicans line whatever Trump's own frailties, which we know, are profound and significant.”
Listen to The News Agents 'Special episode: President Biden quits 2024 race' now.
