Joe Biden’s cognitive decline has been an issue for years, and the release of the Hur report and Biden’s subsequent conniption on live television only reinforced what most Americans think: that he’s too old and mentally deficient to be president.
The reaction to those two events has many thinking that the chances of Joe Biden actually being the Democratic Party’s nominee in November are now much lower. And who could blame them?
Since the report was released, we’ve seen renewed speculation about the possibility of Biden being replaced on the ticket by Michelle Obama—who’s only famous because of her husband. In fact, her tenure at first lady was, on the whole, unremarkable. Her biggest accomplishment was the school lunch program that was widely panned, and she was notorious for taking lavish trips with an excessively large entourage.
I’ve never taken much stock in theories that said Michelle Obama would replace Joe Biden on the ticket, or even pursue the presidency in another capacity, but plenty on the right have.
"If race and gender are your basis for selecting someone for a job, and the identity of your party is tied to that temple of identity politics, then they will risk looking hypocritical if they sideline her after they sideline Biden,” former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy told Fox News Digital on Saturday. "And I do think Michelle Obama offers them a convenient path out of that problem, somebody who checks the boxes that they need to have checked per their own ideology, while also selecting an alternative to Biden that they may view as more palatable in a general election . . . it's looking increasingly like it's not going to be Biden as the nominee. And I think that it should not be shocking to see someone like Michelle Obama take the role of the nomination."
Even Michelle Obama has claimed she has no interest in running for the presidency.
“There’s zero chance,” Michelle Obama said back in 2019. “There are so many ways to improve this country and build a better world, and I keep doing plenty of them, from working with young people to helping families lead healthier lives. But sitting behind the desk in the Oval Office will never be one of them. It’s just not for me.”
Filmmaker Joel Gilbert, who produced a documentary called "Michelle Obama 2024," doesn't buy that line.
"The 'Michelle hates politics' line has been used to hide Michelle’s intense lifelong political activity,” Gilbert told PJ Media last year. "Michelle is all politics all the time and has been since she was a child, tagging along with her precinct captain father, who worked for the Democrat Party machine in Chicago."
But she's not the only one in the Obama orbit saying this. On Saturday, former senior Obama adviser David Axelrod made it clear that Michelle Obama has no interest in being president.
After explaining to Axelrod that Vegas oddsmakers have Michelle Obama as the third most likely candidate to win the presidency, CNN's Michael Smerconish asked him, "What should we be saying about Michelle Obama?"
"Well, here's what I know: Michelle Obama loves this country," he began. "She's a brilliant person and a brilliant communicator. But she was a conscript to politics. She never was interested in a political life. Even when Barack Obama was a young politician, she really didn't participate much in his campaigns. I was with him in his Senate campaign in 2004—I think she showed up twice in the whole campaign on election nights. So, you know, she is not someone who likes politics. She doesn't like the tone and tenor of politics."
Related: Did You Notice What’s Missing in Jill Biden’s Statement on the Hur Report?
"And I would be floored if she would consent to that. They feel that they gave ten years of their life to this. And I'm sure she feels as Barbara Bush did when she said there has to be someone other than the Bush's and the Clintons who could be President of the United States. My guess is that's her attitude," he continued. "I always say, Michael, that I have as much chance of dancing in the Bolshoi Ballet next year than that she would be President of the United States. And so, if you see me running around at the end of the year in a leotard, you'll know what I mean."
There is no doubt that the Obamas enjoyed the perks of the presidency and delight in the enormous wealth they've attained since leaving the White House. Publishers are willing to burn money to publish them. They can make more money for delivering one speech than most Americans make in a year. They'd win a Grammy for publishing a recording of flatulence sounds—and have arguably already done so. They have as much power, fame, and fortune as they can get for the damage they inflicted on this country. Why risk that with another campaign?
