VICTOR JOECKS: Why Democrats ignore the 25th Amendment option
Democrats aren’t upset that President Joe Biden is senile. They’re upset that they can’t hide it from the public any longer.
The pressure continues to build on Biden to drop out after his dismal debate performance. Subsequent interviews and public appearances have done little to counter the obvious. Biden is physically impaired and declining mentally.
NBC News recently interviewed Dr. Tom Pitts, a neurologist and expert on Parkinson’s disease.
“He has the classic features of neurodegeneration,” Pitts said. Biden’s rigidity and slow movements are “hallmarks of Parkinson’s.” It’s so obvious, Pitts said, “that I could have diagnosed him from across the mall.”
The media swiveled from smearing conservatives who mentioned Biden’s decline to detailing how they had known about it for ages. Writing in The New Yorker, reporter Olivia Nuzzi shared about seeing the president in April. “I tried to make eye contact, but it was like his eyes, though open, were not on,” she wrote. “His face had a waxy quality.”
After she left, “the group of reporters — not instigated by me, I should note — made guesses about how dead he appeared to be, percentage wise. ‘Forty percent?’ one of them asked.”
So brave to break that story after the country saw Biden stumbling and mumbling on the debate stage.
Democrats and their donors are furiously trying to force Biden out. It appears Barack Obama is behind the coup attempt. At the moment, Biden is staying the course. In a letter to congressional Democrats, Biden reiterated, “I am firmly committed to staying in this race.” He all but accused Democrats who want to push him out of helping Donald Trump win re-election.
Democrats still have a power move. The 25th Amendment allows them to depose Biden and install Vice President Kamala Harris as “acting president.” Harris and a majority of Cabinet members would have to agree that Biden “is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.” Biden can object, but he would remain out of power if two-thirds of Congress agreed.
The media had many fever dreams about Trump officials using the 25th Amendment to boot him. But there has been little discussion about using it on Biden. That’s the case even though his aides have all-but acknowledged he can’t fully discharge the duties of his office.
The problem is political.
If Harris knifed Biden, she likely would be the nominee of a deeply fractured party. That would demoralize many Democrats and depress turnout. Her DEI candidacy would be DOA. Harris would almost certainly lose to Trump. It would probably ensure Republicans retained control of the House and won the Senate. Her chances in 2028 would be toast.
Biden’s Cabinet secretaries have the same problem. Take out Biden, and a major chunk of your own base will see you as a traitor. Ambitious senators face the same calculation.
So Democrats are stuck with passive-aggressive leaks, media criticism and urging donors to show the resolve they haven’t been willing to muster. It might work. It might not.
But if Democrats believed their own rhetoric about democracy, they would use the 25th Amendment to force out an incapacitated president. Instead, they’re prioritizing their own personal political considerations.
Contact Victor Joecks at vjoecks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4698. Follow @victorjoecks on X.