Former First Lady Michelle Obama will replace President Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee, US Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has predicted. Cruz claims Biden will be replaced at the Democratic National Convention in August, just three months before the election.
The prediction comes after the first presidential debate where Biden's performance was widely criticised by political analysts and news organisations. Some strategists are reportedly discussing ways to replace Biden on the ballot.
Democrats are reportedly “panicked” and actively discussing replacing Biden on the ticket, citing his “hoarse and halting voice”, “unclear” answers and “struggle” to finish his thoughts, according to the NYT and Politico. Some are even “pushing for him to drop out of the race”, and “replacing him on the ticket.”
Cruz shared his thoughts on his podcast, saying the Democratic Party will likely replace Biden with Michelle Obama due to his poor debate performance. “The odds are north of 80% that the Democratic Party will remove Joe Biden from the ticket and replace him with Michelle Obama because Biden did so disastrously badly tonight that Democrats across the country are in utter freefall and complete panic,” he said.
After the presidential debate on Thursday, leaders from both parties share their thoughts on social media. While Biden supporters attributed his poor performance to a cold, Republicans were more critical.
Nikki Haley, former presidential candidate, posted on X, "Mark my words... Biden will not be the Democratic nominee. Republicans, get your guard up!"
Vivek Ramaswamy, a potential VP pick for Trump, shared a series of critical tweets about Biden's debate performance. He suggested that the Democratic Party is using Biden as a "sacrificial lamb" and implied that they should replace him with a different nominee.
Meanwhile, former US President Barack Obama has come out in support of Joe Biden, urging Americans to remember the core values at stake in the election. "Bad debate nights happen, trust me, I know," Obama said, downplaying Biden's poor debate performance.
He added that the election is still a choice between two fundamentally different candidates: one who has fought for ordinary people his entire life and another who only cares about himself.
