The fallout from President Joe Biden’s disastrous debate performance two weeks ago continues to dominate discussions among lawmakers in Washington, D.C., and according to Sen. Tommy Tuberville, has congressional Democrats in “a full panic about the upcoming election.”
“For four years, Democrats and the media have actually lied about Joe Biden’s mental state, but the jig is up. Biden finally was exposed in the debate almost two weeks ago,” Tuberville told reporters Wednesday during a press call.
“He is clearly mentally incapable of running our country. It’s sad, but that’s the truth.”
More than 51 million Americans tuned in on June 27 to watch the first presidential debate of the 2024 election season. Many Democratic lawmakers and operatives immediately voiced concerns as to the mental state of Biden, who often struggled to speak coherently.
As of Wednesday, eight House Democrats have affirmatively called on Biden to exit the race, and three Senate Democrats have cast doubt on Biden’s electoral prospects: Sens. Jon Tester, D-MT, Sherrod Brown, D-OH, and Michael Bennet, D-CO.
Tuberville suggested, however, that doubts among Democrats as to the viability of Biden’s campaign run much deeper than what has so far been reported.
“We don’t know who’s running the White House; is it Dr. Jill (Biden), or (Barack) Obama or (Nancy) Pelosi or (Chuck) Schumer?” he said.
“One thing is for sure: Democrats are all complicit in the coverup. Now the Democrats are in a full panic about the upcoming election, you wouldn’t believe it up here.”
Some Democratic leaders have already floated names as to who might be a viable alternative to lead the Democratic ticket and replace Biden, with some suggestions including California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Recent polling has shown Harris to perform better than Biden in a hypothetical matchup with former President Donald Trump, whereas in that same poll, conducted by Bendixen & Amandi Inc., Newsom and Whitmer would perform worse.
Whether the Democratic presidential candidate remains Biden or not, however, Tuberville said he felt confident in Trump’s electoral prospects this November.
“Kamala is waiting in the wings, just chomping at the bit for her five seconds of fame, (but) it doesn’t matter who Democrats nominate, Harris is just as bad as Biden, if not worse,” he said.
“We’ll see what the Democrats decide to do, let’s just stay out of their way and let them make their own decisions. Regardless, the American people are ready for a change in November.”
Alabama Daily News asked Tuberville if he had personally heard other Democratic lawmakers voice support for Biden withdrawing to the race.
Tuberville said that he had heard such concerns expressed among Democrats behind the scenes, and argued that Biden’s debate fallout has also been viewed as an electoral liability among some Democrats, naming Tester as an example, who has publicly called on Biden to “prove” he’s “up to the job.”
“Democrats are running for cover, they don’t want to be associated with President Biden, especially if you’re up for reelection,” Tuberville said.
He also repeated a claim he made earlier this week on Fox News that U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-CA, and former President Barack Obama were actually the ones “making decisions from the White House.” There has been no documentation presented to back up this claim from Tuberville and other Republicans.
“We’ve all known, as Republicans and Democrats up here, that Biden has had cognitive problems, we’ve all known that for three-and-a-half years, we’ve all known that other people are making decisions from the White House,” he said.
“If we don’t have a president that’s making the decisions right now as bad as our country is in shape in terms of domestic and foreign relations, it is a shame. The Democrats own this, they know it, and they know it’s going to be a heavy chain around their neck for the next four or five months, and hopefully the American voter is watching this.”