In the wake of President Joe Biden's not-so-surprising decision to drop out of the 2024 presidential race, two big questions still loom: Did the big media intentionally underplay his growing mental and physical issues? And should Biden be allowed to finish out his term? A majority of voters answer with a resounding "Yes" to the first, and half say "Yes" to the second, according to July's I&I/TIPP Poll.
The national online I&I/TIPP Poll queried 1,389 registered voters from June 26-28, a period that included Biden's disastrous debate performance, but just before a chorus of both the media and establishment Democrats began to call for him to resign.
Biden's stumbling performance in the June 27 debate with Trump led to an abrupt reversal by the media, which only this month began aggressively questioning Biden's deteriorating condition.
A Media Coverup? I&I/TIPP asked voters: "Do you agree or disagree that the mainstream press is covering up President Biden's mental and physical problems because they fear it would help Trump?" Among all those responding, 59% said they either agreed "Strongly" or "Somewhat".
In recent weeks, the media turned against Biden, particularly after his poor debate performance against Trump and recent public remarks, including a tightly-scripted press conference where Biden again seemed to struggle to speak and clearly express his thoughts.
Should Biden Be Forced From Office? Following the public revelations of Biden's frailty, factions within the Democratic Party, shocked at polls showing Trump beating Biden handily, worked behind the scenes to have him removed as the party's candidate in 2024 - by directly pressuring Biden leading up to the Democratic National Convention, and by threatening to deploy the 25th Amendment of the Constitution.
There's little doubt that Biden's own internal polling, and that of the Democratic Party, showed glaring weaknesses for him going forward.
For Biden, his decision to quit the race and support Harris won't heal what now ails the Democratic Party, as some observers pointed out.
With Biden out of the race, if no other candidate wins a majority of the delegates' votes on the first ballot, the convention becomes "Open." That means delegates would be free to vote for whomever they wish.
Apart from erasing the votes of the 14 million or so Democrats who voted for Biden during the primaries, an open convention will also give Harris a tougher road to travel to gain the White House.
The 25th Amendment route of having Biden removed from office isn't necessarily dead. If the Democratic Party poobahs think their best bet is Harris, and that letting her actually become president for six months might add to her appeal with voters, they could push to have Biden declared mentally unfit.
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