Kamala Harris or Michelle Obama? Discussions about Joe Biden's replacement intensify

Discussions about Joe Biden's retirement and replacement have not stopped. Board members of the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, columnists from The New Yorker, The Economist, POLITICO and other major media outlets on the left are joined by panic reports from the Democratic Party, the White House and now, this July 2, Congressman Lloyd Doggett becomes the first sitting Democrat to openly call for the president-candidate's withdrawal.

It's a coordinated effort. Axios reports this morning that the White House is in a panic, and the staff feels depressed and duped. Already, too many Democratic and influential voices believe that Biden should not be the party's nominee. In that sense, the question arises of who could replace him. Some polls have already begun to operate.

Kamala Harris could already be up to bat. A poll this morning, July 2, from CNN says that "three-quarters of American voters say the Democratic Party would have a better chance of holding the presidency in 2024 with someone other than President Joe Biden leading the ticket."

According to the same poll, if Biden remains the nominee, Trump beats him by 6 points (49% to 43%).

CNN flirts with an alternative scenario: "The poll also puts Vice President Kamala Harris within striking distance of Trump in a hypothetical matchup: 47% of voters support Trump, 45% support Harris, a result within a margin of error that suggests there is no clear front-runner."

According to the CNN poll, Harris performs better than Trump among women and better than Biden among independent voters.

Finally, the poll says that among other Democratic officials, considering California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, the best performance against Trump is still Kamala Harris.

"I think it's going to be Kamala," wrote New York Times columnist Ross Douthat in X.

Kamala Harris' name also came up this morning in an interview with MSNBC. Democratic Rep. James Clyburn said the vice president has his full support if Biden decides to step aside.

Another name that has been strongly considered for months, although she is not immersed in politics, is that of former first lady Michelle Obama. In fact, for months now, important Republican voices, such as political strategist Roger Stone, have been assuring that Michelle Obama will be a candidate sooner or later.

Her name was considered by a demolishing poll for Biden made by Reuters/Ipsos this Tuesday, July 2. The poll finds that one in three Democrats think Biden should step down after a very poor debate performance against Donald Trump, which exposed the president's cognitive limitations. However, according to the poll, no currently elected Democrat could beat Trump in November—no name, except for one woman.

"Among the top Democratic names presented to respondents, only Michelle Obama, wife of former Democratic President Barack Obama, outpolled Biden and outpolled Trump by 50% to 39% in a hypothetical matchup," read Reuters.

"Michelle Obama, author of the 2018 best-selling 'Becoming,' has repeatedly said she has no intention of running for president," it adds.

Regarding Michelle Obama, conservative commentator Jack Posobiec said on his website, Human Events, that "we have reports from a White House official that Michelle Obama is quietly working behind the scenes to ally with Kamala Harris and build a coalition of black female millionaire donors."

A couple of days ago, Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz prompted a prediction that matches what has been raised by voices like Stone's for months: Michelle Obama will be the nominee.

According to Cruz, "Biden will be replaced at the Democratic National Convention in August, just three months before the election."

"The odds of the Democratic Party withdrawing Joe Biden from the nomination and replacing him with Michelle Obama are over 80%, because Biden has done so disastrously poorly tonight that Democrats across the country are in free fall and in total panic," Cruz said on his podcast following last Thursday's debate.

Other leading GOP voices, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy and former Gov. Nikki Haley, say Biden won't end up as the Democratic nominee.

"The game is more obvious than ever: the Democratic Party offered an old man as their sacrificial lamb tonight," Ramaswamy posted on X the night of the debate.