Two leading Democratic activists are circulating a memo ahead of the party’s August convention outlining plans for a “surprise primary” to field a candidate to replace President Biden if he is forced to step down, according to a new report.
Rosa Brooks, a Georgetown University law professor who is a volunteer policy adviser to Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign, and Ted Dintersmith, a venture capitalist and major donor, prepared a detailed memo that was distributed to party donors, administration officials and the president’s campaign staff. Semaphore reported Monday.
“We can drag ourselves toward a shameful and avoidable defeat that will end our democracy. Or Democrats can make this our finest moment,” the memo read.
“We expect help from Almighty God, but He helps those who help themselves,” the statement added — a direct reference to a recent question during Biden’s rambling interview with ABC News host George Stephanopoulos on Friday, following his debacle last month in a debate with Republican rival Donald Trump.
Biden, 81, told Stephanopoulos: “If the almighty God came down and said, ‘Joe, step down from the polls,’ I would step down from the polls.”
“But the Almighty God is not coming down,” the president said.
A new Democratic memo counters: “We need to act. Now.”
Brooks, a former Obama and Clinton administration official, was an adviser to and donor to Biden’s 2020 campaign, and also donated to the Biden Victory Fund PAC that year.
Dintersmith also donated the maximum amount to Biden’s major campaign committees in 2020, but has not yet donated to his own campaign or its associated political action committees this term.
Meanwhile, according to Federal Election Commission filings, the venture capitalist has donated $65,000 during the 2023-24 election cycle to Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s PAC, Fight Like Hell, and another PAC supporting Kentucky Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, both of whom have been talked about as potential successors to Biden.
Whitmer was once considered a possible running mate for Biden in 2020.
For the memo’s plan to succeed, Biden would need to abandon his reelection campaign by mid-July, avoid making a big fuss given Vice President Kamala Harris’ influence and embrace an open primary with voting by Democratic delegates.
The six candidates who receive the most delegate votes will move on to the campaign period, during which each candidate can only make positive appeals in the run-up to the presidential election.
At the same time, cultural icons such as Oprah, Taylor Swift and Michelle Obama are set to host forums moderated by each candidate ahead of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on August 19, the memo said.
Ultimately, delegates will vote to select the Democratic presidential nominee, whose name will be announced on the third day of the convention.
The candidate will then take to the stage with Biden, who has been hailed as a “modern-day George Washington” for declining the nomination, as well as former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.
“Even in the midst of downturn and crisis, we can chart a positive path forward,” Dintersmith told Semaphore about the memo.
When asked about the memo, a Biden campaign spokesman referred media outlets to Biden’s comments about his disastrous debate defeat to Trump.
“I’m not going to waste three and a half years of work on a 90-minute debate,” the president said at a campaign rally in Wisconsin. “I’m going to keep campaigning and I’m going to beat Donald Trump.”
Neither Brooks, Dintersmith nor the Biden campaign immediately responded to requests for comment.
In a letter to Democratic lawmakers on Monday morning, Biden said he was “firmly committed” to staying on the ballot in 2024, but ignored growing questions from members of his party about his cognitive abilities.
