Democrats want to turn next month's convention into a homage to President Joe Biden, so they need an announcement that won't reflect the circumstances that could lead him to walk away, Newsmax contributor Mark Halperin said Friday.
"Remember that part of the embarrassment, some say humiliation, that Joe Biden is going through is what's driven this," Halperin, who broke the news Thursday that Biden's announcement could come as soon as this weekend, said on "Wake Up America."
Biden's dwindling poll numbers are just part of what's driving Democrats to push for Biden to leave the race, as many of them, including his friends, don't believe he's up to a live appearance to make his announcement, Halperin said.
"The people around him who want to turn this into a celebration of his decision, his self-sacrifice in the view of Democrats who believe he can't win, want this announcement and the convention to be an homage to Joe Biden, not just his career and his accomplishments but his selfless decision, in their view, to step aside," said Halperin.
This means that Biden "can't come out and give a doddering speech, [because] that would be enshrined in history as reinforcing what [he] doesn't want to be known for, which is being president of the United States and being unable to carry out the duties of the office," Halperin said.
At this point, Biden has a "lot to deal with," including being ill with COVID, Halperin added.
"Second of all, he's furious at his friends on Capitol Hill, Nancy Pelosi in particular, who he's known for decades," said Halperin. "They're the ones who have forced this issue somewhat publicly, but largely behind the scenes."
Halperin, a journalist, said Pelosi has been a "big part" of sending the message about polling data, as well as the "straw that broke the camel's back" about his fundraising going away.
"There are a lot of decisions still to be made, particularly about how a convention would work under these circumstances," Halperin said. "I've been told by multiple sources that we can expect the president to make his announcement as early as the weekend, perhaps next week, and to clear the way for Kamala Harris and perhaps others to compete for the nomination."
Halperin reported Thursday that Biden does not plan to endorse Harris, but Friday he said the president could change his mind.
"Joe Biden has a history well before the decline in his acuity of being a horrible decision-maker," Halperin said. "Part of why Nancy Pelosi and others felt they had to force the issue was they were worried that even if he sort of started to get the joke and realized there was no path to victory, that he would just delay, not just on the decision about whether to run."
But making that decision would not necessarily be a sign of Biden's decline, but it "could just be that Joe Biden's a bad decision-maker," said Halperin.
Meanwhile, he said there are people around Harris who are "furious at my report" and have started to lobby the White House to say Biden must endorse her.
But others say that if she is the nominee, she will need to free herself as much as possible from the talk "that this was some set-up job," said Halperin.
There are reports that Harris has been vetting potential running mates, and Halperin said that based on his reporting, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is the odds-on favorite.
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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