President Joe Biden can’t seem to catch a break.
Within a week, an assassination attempt against former President Trump rocked and united the Republican Party, the Republican National Convention sailed through without a hitch, and then, shortly before Trump gave a multi-hour keynote speech, it was announced that President Biden tested positive for COVID.
“Today is a terrible day,” said CNN commentator Van Jones. “[A] bullet couldn’t stop Trump. A virus just stopped Biden.”
“You’ve got nominees of this party getting their butts kissed. Biden’s getting his butt kicked by his own party. The Democrats are coming apart. The Republicans are coming together. That’s what’s happening. And at some point, this party has to look at the reality of that,” he added.
Biden, 81, is the oldest sitting US President and has faced increased scrutiny regarding his mental and physical capacity since his disastrous debate. A small but growing voice of national Democrat leaders called for Biden to withdraw from the Presidential race.
Some Republicans have even expressed serious national security concerns and called on President Biden to resign the Presidency itself or the Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment.
On July 17th Biden used his official X account to start a thread that announced “I’m Sick” followed immediately by “of Elon Musk and his rich buddies trying to buy this election.”
The attempt at humor landed flat, even infuriating some Democrats and “melting the brain” of others. One Congressional Democrat admonished Biden’s staff to “read the room.” The internet immediately turned the Tweet into a meme adding insult to injury.
While Biden’s symptoms have “improved meaningfully,” the diagnosis has increased speculation regarding the President’s future. On Thursday, two senior Democrats expressed belief that Biden would leave the race.
Their prediction ended up becoming true; President Biden formally ended his bid for reelection yesterday.
