"The corrupt Joe Biden was not fit to run for president, and certainly is not fit to hold office, and never was!" With this message, not conciliatory and in line with his campaign in recent months, Donald Trump has received the news that President Joe Biden will not be his rival in the November elections.
Republicans see an opportunity in the chaos among the Democrats. They have taken advantage of it a lot in the last month, and now that leadership is going to change, they believe they have a lot to gain by demanding the president's resignation. The move is risky because if that were to happen, it would give a lot of coverage and projection to their rival. But at the same time, they argue it would confirm what they have been saying for a long time, that Biden is not capable of handling the country or the nuclear football.
The withdrawal of the veteran Democrat is not a surprise, but not good news for the Republicans either. Their confidence is currently at its highest, and the National Convention they held this week in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, closed with an image of unity, a united front. They thought they had Biden not only easy but done. And now they will have to adjust.
"He only reached the office of president with lies, Fake News, and without leaving his Basement," he added in his social media message with the usual codes, but perhaps somewhat more cryptic. "Everyone around him, including his doctor and the media, knew he was not capable of being president, and he wasn't. And now, look what he has done to our country, with millions of people crossing our border, completely uncontrolled and unchecked, many of them coming from prisons, psychiatric institutions, and a record number of terrorists. We will suffer greatly because of his presidency, but we will remedy the damage he has caused very quickly. Let's MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" he concluded.
The conservative candidate's words are not isolated but part of the reaction strategy they had planned. About Kamala Harris, Trump has only said she will be "easier" to beat. And it has been J.D. Vance the man chosen to be his vice president if he manages to return to the White House, who has articulated the attacks more.
"If Joe Biden ends his reelection campaign, how can he justify remaining as president? Not running for reelection is a clear admission that President Trump was right from the beginning that Biden was not mentally fit enough to serve as Commander in Chief. There is no middle ground," Vance said in a much more moderate tone than his boss.
"Joe Biden has been the worst president of my life, and Kamala Harris has been there with him every step of the way. Over the past four years, she has been the co-author of Biden's open border and environmental scam policies that raised the cost of housing and food. She owns all these failures and lied for almost four years about Biden's mental capacity, burdening the nation with a president who cannot do the job. President Trump and I are ready to save America, whoever is on the Democratic ticket," Vance added on his X account.
The border issue will be key in the coming weeks, as it is the usual battering ram against Biden, the predicate they use when mentioning his name, just as Trump always adds the word "crazy" when mentioning Nancy Pelosi, the former leader of the Democrats in the House of Representatives.
That is precisely where the battle continues now because in November, not only the president is chosen but also a third of the Senate and the 435 congressmen. House Republican leader Mike Johnson has hammered on that line.
"The Democratic Party ousted the Democratic candidate just over 100 days before the elections. By invalidating the votes of over 14 million Americans who chose Joe Biden as the Democratic presidential candidate, the self-proclaimed 'party of democracy' has shown exactly the opposite. The party's prospects are no better now with Vice President Kamala Harris, co-owner of the disastrous political failures of the Biden administration. As second in command and a completely inept border czar, Harris has been a cheerful accomplice, not only in the destruction of American sovereignty, security, and prosperity but also in the biggest political cover-up in U.S. history," the congressman said.
The Republicans' strategy is clear. If Biden cannot be a candidate, he cannot preside, and if he does, they have been lying for years. "She has known for a long time about his incapacity to serve. Regardless of the chaos in the current White House, our adversaries around the world must be reminded that Congress, the military, and the American people are fully prepared and committed to defending our interests both at home and abroad. If Joe Biden is not fit to run for president, he is not fit to hold office. He must resign from office immediately. November 5 cannot come soon enough!" Speaker Johnson also said on X, before Twitter.