After weeks of coordinating planned leaks from Biden administration staffers and his buddy George Clooney's infamous New York Times op-ed, former President Barack Obama's crusade to oust President Joe Biden from the Democratic presidential nomination has finally succeeded. The current president conceded that he is unfit to run for leader of the free world on Sunday, endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris in the process. And now, after a lengthy professional relationship that has finally and fully soured after years of discord, Obama has issued his final insult towards his own former vice president: refusing to follow the rest of the Democratic Party elders in endorsing the current vice president to replace Biden.
"We will be navigating uncharted waters in the days ahead," the former president said in a statement applauding Biden for doing what Obama's been beckoning him to do for weeks now. "But I have extraordinary confidence that the leaders of our party will be able to create a process from which an outstanding nominee emerges. I believe that Joe Biden’s vision of a generous, prosperous, and united America that provides opportunity for everyone will be on full display at the Democratic Convention in August."
Although Obama did reignite Biden's political career by plucking him from his plateau in the Senate to serve as his running mate in 2008, Obama expressly chose Biden because he considered the then-65 year old too elderly to be a serious future presidential contender.
Obama then famously weaponized the death of Biden's son Beau to pressure the then-72 year old not to jump into the 2016 presidential contest to clear the way for Hillary Clinton to become the first woman to win the office.
After Clinton lost to Trump, Biden launched his third bid for the presidency in 2020. His campaign was widely regarded as a longshot by party elders despite his persistent polling lead over younger left-wing challengers who were light on substance and saccharine on style. Prominent Obama allies such as David Axelrod openly mocked Biden's attempt to tether his own bid to Obama's legacy. Only when it became apparent that Biden would lose the nomination to an overt socialist, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), if the party did not coalesce around him did Obama throw his weight behind his supposed friend.
Since then, the rivalry between the two has deepened , with Biden boastful of his radically more left-wing record and the Obamas reportedly disdainful of Biden's treatment of Hunter Biden's ex-wife, Kathleen Buhle, a close friend of Michelle's who is still owed millions in unpaid alimony by her cheating ex.
Now, the Obamas have thrown their weight around successfully enough that Biden is backing down on terms that are only nominally his own, all the while undercutting calls for party unity until the very end. The party already rigged the primary for Biden, including cancelling primaries or blocking non-Biden candidates from the ballot in eight states. And as Biden tries to quickly cushion the party from the blow of a second sweep at disenfranchising its voters, Obama has thrown caution to the wind for a final laugh at Biden's expense.
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