The past month has been one of the most tumultuous in modern American political history: a devastating facial expression in a televised presidential debate, an assassination attempt on a former president who was favored in polls to win re-election, a The impact of COVID-19 on a sitting president and his subsequent withdrawal from the race, coupled with the influx of support and money into the campaign from a previously unpopular vice president.
What happened behind the scenes to get us to this moment? this week in Just asking questions, Alex Thompson joins Liz Wolfe and Zach Weissmueller, who are writing about Joe Biden’s White House. Axios. He has many exclusive reports on what’s going on inside the Biden White House, although according to previous guest Dave Weigel, Thompson It had been delayed due to previous reports that Biden’s health was deteriorating.
They discuss the internal politics behind Biden’s decision to drop out, the prospect of Vice President Kamala Harris succeeding him in the 2024 presidential race, the media’s insistence that Harris is not the president’s “border czar,” and former President Barack Obama’s reluctance to support Harris. Liz and Zach also reacted to Biden’s exit speech, Harris’ recent rally, and musician Charli XCX endorsing Harris as “the kid.”
Sources cited in this conversation:
- Biden quits
- Axios: “Exclusive: Biden doubts Harris’ electoral chances“
- Axios: “Exclusive: Biden changes Marine One’s walking habits“
- Axios: “Harris’ border chaos plagues her new campaign”
- Charli XCX on X: “Kamala is a brat”
- 18-34s Harris vs. Trump, CNN (July 22-23): “CNN Poll: Harris improves on Biden’s performance against Trump in early look at new matchup“
- 18–34s Quinnipiac (July 19–21)
- Producer: John Oosterhout
