OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Republican responses poured in Sunday after President Joe Biden’s campaign announced that he would no longer seek reelection, including from the party’s standard-bearer, former President Donald Trump.
Biden’s announcement came after weeks of mounting pressure on Biden to leave the race following his devastating debate performance against former President Donald Trump last month. A growing number of Democrats and their supporters and donors, including Hollywood elitists, began jumping on the bandwagon, demanding he step down following a series of post-debate polls showing support for him taking across the country, especially in must-win battleground states.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 21, 2024
Trump also responded on his Truth Social page.
“Crooked Joe Biden was not fit to run for President, and is certainly not fit to serve – And never was! He only attained the position of President by lies, Fake News, and not leaving his Basement. All those around him, including his Doctor and the Media, knew that he wasn’t capable of being President, and he wasn’t – And now, look what he’s done to our Country, with millions of people coming across our Border, totally unchecked and unvetted, many from prisons, mental institutions, and record numbers of terrorists. We will suffer greatly because of his presidency, but we will remedy the damage he has done very quickly. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” he wrote.
Some Republicans, such as Republican Conference Leader Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), called on Biden to resign immediately, suggesting that if he is not fit to run for reelection, he cannot continue running the country.
“If Joe Biden can’t run for re-election, he is unable and unfit to serve as President of the United States. He must immediately resign. The Democrat Party is in absolute free fall for their blatantly corrupt and desperate attempt to cover up the fact that Joe Biden is unfit for office,” she tweeted.
“Every elected Democrat in America owns Joe Biden’s failed and feckless record causing the border crisis, Bidenflation, and chaos and weakness around the world. President Trump will win this November to save America,” she added.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) added: “President Trump has never just been running against Joe Biden. He’s been running against the destruction of America brought by Democrats and their policies. Kamala. Michelle. Hillary. It doesn’t matter who they pick. 2024 is open borders vs secure border. Globalism vs Nationalism. Collapsed economy vs strong economy. President Trump is the strongest he’s ever been and you can’t stop the TRUMP TRAIN.”
Previously, Trump told Fox News’ Martha MacCallum that he believed Biden would eventually drop out of the race.
Q: “Do you think Biden will drop out?”
TRUMP: “Personally — I think so.”
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) January 22, 2024
Biden has since endorsed his vice president, Kamala Harris, though it’s unclear if she will be contested at the Democratic National Convention next month — or in a court of law.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) stated during a Sunday interview on CNN that House Republicans will support legal challenges if Democrats try to bypass primary voters and substitute President Biden on the presidential election ticket at the last minute.
“Democrats are looking into potential legal hurdles to replacing their nominee so late in the process. Do you think that whoever emerges from the Democratic Convention as that party’s nominee for president and vice president, do you think those people should be on the ballot in all 50 states? Or would you support efforts to sue to keep those nominees off state ballots assuming it’s not President Biden or Vice President Harris?” asked CNN host Jake Tapper.
“Look, I’m a former litigator, you know a constitutional attorney. I’d just made note in some uh… comments of the last week that they have real problems,” Speaker Johnson replied. “I mean, every state has their own election system, that’s our constitutional system, that’s the way it’s done. And in some of these states, it’s a real hurdle, they have a real problem of replacing the nominee at the top of the ticket.”
Johnson went on to note that Biden was selected by Democratic voters to be their nominee through a months-long primary process. “It will be very interesting to see if the so-called party of democracy, the Democrats, go into a back room somewhere and switch it out and put someone else at the top of the ticket,” he said. “I mean, I think they’ve got I think they’ve got legal hurdles in some of these states, and it’ll be litigated, I would expect, on the ground there, and they’ll have to sort through that.”
