As Dems sour on Biden, will Michelle Obama jump into 2024 race?

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL – With the passing of the Labor Day holiday, the U.S. presidential campaign is now in full swing, and Israelis are watching closely.

Are we really going to have a rematch of the brutally contentious Trump v. Biden campaign of 2020?

Or is it possible that someone who isn’t even in the race will end up the Democratic presidential nominee?

More to the point: Is Biden about to bow out of the race this fall and hand the 'keys to the kingdom' over to Michelle Obama to be the standard bearer for the Democratic party heading into 2024?

Such a scenario might have been seen as far-fetched earlier this year.

Especially since the former First Lady has repeatedly said she has no interest in running.

But events are changing rapidly.

BIDEN IS IN SERIOUS PHYSICAL TROUBLE

Let’s be honest: Joe Biden is in serious trouble.

We need to be praying for the president of the United States.

Clearly, he’s not doing well physically or mentally and it’s painful to watch.

I'm not writing this as a partisan.

I'm writing this as an Evangelical Christian who is commanded by Jesus Christ to love my neighbor.

And commanded by the Apostle Paul to “pray for kings and all who are in authority.” (1 Timothy 2:2)

So, I am praying daily for President Biden because I’m worried about him – and I ask you to be praying for him and his family, as well.

However, even if you set aside the questions of how physically and mentally sharp President Biden is now – and the matter of how alert and how capable he is right now to be Commander-in-Chief – we all know that it’s going to get worse.

Biden is 80 years old.

In November, he will turn 81.

If he were to be re-elected, he would be 82 upon taking the oath of office in January 2025, making him the oldest person ever to serve as president of the United States.

Few Americans can picture him making it through another four years, much less successfully.

I certainly can’t.

With Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea looking for new ways to challenge the U.S. and expand their evil influence, Americans and her allies – especially Israel – cannot afford four more years of weakness in the White House.

NOW BIDEN IS IN SERIOUS POLITICAL TROUBLE

That said, the biggest challenge Biden faces right now is not the Hunter Biden corruption scandals.

Or Hunter’s indictment this week on federal gun charges that could put him in prison for up to a decade.

Or even the prospect of President Biden being impeached by a Republican Congress.

No, the biggest challenge facing the president right now is that most members of the Democratic Party don’t want him to run again.

A CNN poll released last week revealed that nearly 7-in-10 Democrats and Democrat-leaning voters (67%) don't want Biden to run again.

Why?

It’s not that they don’t like Biden.

It’s that they are worried he can’t do the job – and that he could actually lose to their nemesis, former President Donald J. Trump.

That CNN poll is creating an earthquake throughout the Democratic Party, shaking even party loyalists out of their lethargy and indicating that they have to scramble quickly to rethink their 2024 game plan.

THE WASHINGTON POST HAS JUST TURNED AGAINST BIDEN

And it gets worse for Biden.

The Washington Post just published a column by one of its most respected writers, David Ignatius, calling for Biden to step aside from the race and let someone else run.

Here is the full column – President Biden should not run for reelection in 2024 – so you can read it for yourself.

“In sum, he has been a successful and effective president,” Ignatius wrote of Biden. “But I don’t think Biden and Vice President Harris should run for reelection. It’s painful to say that, given my admiration for much of what they have accomplished. But if he and Harris campaign together in 2024, I think Biden risks undoing his greatest achievement — which was stopping Trump.”

And the column is being discussed all over MSNBC and on progressive talk shows across the country.

David Ignatius went on “Morning Joe” on MSNBC this week and told Joe Scarborough, and Joe’s wife, Mika, “I think it comes down to what we were talking about earlier — is Joe Biden the person who can stop Donald Trump or somebody like Trump who gets the Republican nomination? That’s what he’s got to — he’s got to look in the mirror, search his soul and make that decision. And I wanted to raise that question. I’d like him to think that through carefully because I have my concerns.”

“Just to answer David’s question,” Scarborough later replied, “Mika and I – everybody, we talk to, every political discussion – it talks a lot about Trump, but when it comes to Joe Biden, people say, ‘Man, he’s too old to run.’ He’s, and I mean, he’s not going to, he’s not really going to run.”

Don’t miss that Ignatius doesn’t simply call for Biden to step aside for the good of the party. He also specifically says that Vice President Kamala Harris should step aside and not run either, as she brings nothing to the table.

Ouch.

IF NOT BIDEN, THEN WHO WILL EMERGE AS THE DEMOCRATS’ STANDARD BEARER?

These developments are hugely important because they are not GOP talking points.

They are windows into a conversation that’s going on inside the Democratic Party.

As Scarborough admitted, it’s a conversation that has been going on for months – but only now spilling out in the open because time is running out for Dems to consider other options.

After all, central to the conversation is this question: Who is the alternative to Biden?

We just watched the Democratic governor of California, Gavin Newsom, announce that he is not going to run.

There had been a lot of speculation that Newsom, the governor of the country’s biggest state, might jump into the race.

The fact that Newsom is talking about possibly debating Florida Governor Ron DeSantis created even more buzz.

If Newsom has taken himself out of contention, then what?

If the Dems leave the field as it is, then presumably Robert F. Kennedy Jr., would emerge as the nominee.

(Let’s not even discuss the matter of Marianne Williamson.)

ENTER MICHELLE OBAMA

It is suddenly and increasingly plausible – even likely – that a drum beat is going to start in which party elders, grassroots activists and major Democratic donors will try to persuade Michelle Obama to run in order to “save the party from ruination” and “save the country from Donald Trump.”

Might she do it?

An August poll indicates that if she jumped into the race right now, she would win decisively – the poll puts Michelle at 48% and Biden only at 36%.

Now, imagine if Biden voluntarily bows out of the race and Michelle Obama gets into the race and Biden endorses her, and throws his whole machinery and support and financing behind her.

Barack Obama, the former president, would presumably throw his full support behind his wife to help her win the presidency – after all, he would effectively be the co-president, not merely the “First Gentleman.”

Suddenly, that's a very different dynamic and one that could really catch Republicans completely off guard.

HAS BIDEN BEEN PLANNING A HANDOFF ALL YEAR?

Let’s go one step further.

What if the handoff from Biden to Michelle Obama has been in the works for much of the past year?

Consider a few interesting facts.

Did you know that Democrats have decided not to make Iowa the first in the nation presidential contest, but instead to make South Carolina the site of their first primary?

That happened in February.

Why did the Dems ditch Iowa?

Probably because it's too white.

But with a large African American population, South Carolina is perfect for Michelle Obama to win and win big, starting off her campaign with a bang.

Coincidence, or the plan?

Consider this, too.

Do you know where the Democratic National Convention is going to be held in 2024? That’s right, in Chicago.

And who lives in Chicago?

That would be Michelle and Barack Obama, right?

One more interesting tidbit.

Do you know who gave the last big speech at the 2020 Democratic National Convention?

Well, obviously, it was Joe Biden accepting the nomination.

But who nominated him?

Who gave the big keynote speech endorsing Biden and giving him the full weight of the Obama blessing?

Not Barack Obama.

It was Michelle Obama.

When you look at all these factors – and how desperately Democrats are searching for an alternative to Biden – you have to start looking at Michelle Obama as the most likely candidate to get in this race.

Now, I'm not saying it'll definitively happen.

And so far, I’ve very little speculation that Michelle Obama might jump into the race and emerge as the Democratic nominee.

But I think you’re about to hear a lot more.

HOW MIGHT A MICHELLE OBAMA PRESIDENCY AFFECT ISRAEL?

To be clear, ALL ISRAEL NEWS is not a political organization.

We're a nonprofit and, therefore, a nonpartisan news and analysis organization.

We don’t endorse candidates or political parties.

But we do report on events and trends, and we do assess how American politics might affect Israel and the broader Arab and Islamic world.

To that end, the prospect of a Michelle Obama presidency will be raised for many Israelis.

After all, one would expect her policy positions to echo – if not be totally identical to – that of her husband’s positions.

And we all know that Barack Obama had a highly contentious relationship with Israel during his eight years in office, and particularly with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

It was Barack Obama who demanded that Israel accept a Palestinian state on the 1967 lines that would have divided Jerusalem.

Netanyahu fought back hard against that and, of course, succeeded in preventing it from happening.

But he came under tremendous American pressure from President Obama and his team.

Then, of course, there was the Iran nuclear deal which gave $150 billion to the Iranian regime – and for what?

Did Tehran dismantle its Iranian nuclear weapons program? No.

Did it shut down all its uranium enrichment program? No.

Did it shut down its plutonium enrichment program? No.

Did it mothball all of its nuclear research programs? No.

Did it dismantle its missiles capable of reaching Israel? No.

In fact, we know the Iranian regime is actively seeking to build nuclear weapons because Netanyahu ordered the Israeli intelligence services, the Mossad, to go in and steal Iran's nuclear weapons archive.

So, we know exactly what the Iranians were planning after that nuclear deal was signed.

Clearly, the Iran nuclear deal did not work.

I know there are lots of people in Washington and Brussels and elsewhere who wish it had worked, but it didn't.

It didn't contain Iranian aggression, terrorism or subversion in this region.

It didn't stop Iran from becoming increasingly cruel to its own people, beating and killing women, crushing protesters and dissenters.

It didn't stop the Iranian regime from being evil.

It emboldened the regime.

Now they are even closer to building nuclear weapons.

Yet, President Biden keeps begging Tehran to join an 'Iran Nuclear Deal 2.0' that would be just as flawed, if not more so.

What’s more, Biden just gave the terrorist regime in Tehran $6 billion in cash to release a few hostages, rewarding such hostage-taking and making it even more likely to happen again soon.

Is it really likely that a potential future President Michelle Obama is going to have a significantly better and more positive approach toward Israel and the Middle East?

I wouldn’t recommend holding your breath.

So, will it happen next?

Will Joe Biden announce this fall that he's not going to run for office?

Will he, then, hand the 'keys to the kingdom' over to Michelle Obama?

It would be an electrifying moment for the “mainstream” press corps.

It would be an electrifying moment for the grassroots of the Democratic Party.

She would raise an enormous amount of money very, very quickly.

And her entrance into the race would really change the calculus for Republicans.

At ALL ISRAEL NEWS, we will be watching closely, and we’ll keep you posted every step of the way.