Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) predicted Thursday that Democrats will force President Biden to withdraw from the 2024 race and nominate Vice President Harris or former first lady Michelle Obama to replace him at the top of the party ticket.
“I put the chances at about 80 percent [Democrats] to throw away [Biden]and if and when they let him go, I think the replacement nominee will be one of two people – it will be Michelle Obama or it will be Kamala Harris,” Cruz said in an interview with Fox Business.
“Listen, they all knew six months ago, a year ago, longer ago, that Biden’s mental capacity was severely diminished, that he was not fit to do the job,” he added. “But they are not worried about having a commander in chief who is not capable of fulfilling responsibilities, the only reason they are panicking is because they now realize that the American people have seen this and are afraid that he will lose. November and now, they are willing to abandon it.”
Harris’ name has been repeatedly floated as a potential replacement if Biden drops out of the race, although he has said he does not intend to do so, even amid growing pressure from some members of his party.
The president came under heavy scrutiny last month after his disastrous debate performance against former President Trump sparked concerns about his ability to be re-elected and serve another term.
Harris made clear last week that she supports continuing Biden’s re-election campaign, while Obama has repeatedly said he will not run for the White House.
When asked Thursday if Biden is at his breaking point, Cruz said he already thinks Biden is “toast.”
“I think the Democrats are in a total panic and I see it as inevitable that they are moving towards abandoning him and realizing that they have a combination of two things: they have, first of all, the president’s various mental declines due to age advanced, but they have, secondly, a set of policies that they cannot defend,” he added, pointing to the US southern border.
Recent polls have suggested that Harris and Obama may each have a slight edge over Trump, further fueling speculation about their viability as potential candidates.
According to a poll conducted this week by Democratic pollster Bendixen & Amandi Inc., Harris outperformed Trump 42 percent to 41 percent, while Biden trailed the former president with 42 percent support to Trump’s 43 percent.
In a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted earlier this month, Obama was the only Democrat with an edge over Trump in a hypothetical matchup, garnering 50 percent support to his 39 percent.
Other Democrats suggested as possible replacements include California Governor Gavin Newsom and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
Ten House Democrats publicly called on Biden to drop out, while Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) became the first Democratic senator to make the same call Wednesday night.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
