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Trump claims Biden 'never had COVID', says 'if he can't run for office, he can't run our country' and delivers brutal ultimatum to Kamala Harris - as polling shows who would win
Donald Trump claimed that Joe Biden's positive COVID test was phony, demanded he resign and issued an ultimatum to likely new opponent Kamala Harris.
Biden, 81, made the announcement in shocking fashion, simply posting a digitally-signed letter to his social media accounts Sunday afternoon.
Trump made a series of posts to his Truth Social account attempting to destroy the narrative around Biden's decision, including the positive COVID-19 test that left the president at home the past few days.
He wrote: 'Biden never had Covid. He is a threat to Democracy!'
Trump tried to hit home Biden's lack of fitness to run the country for the last six months of his term, saying he 'Who is running our Country right now? It’s not Crooked Joe, he has no idea where he is. If he can’t run for office, he can’t run our Country!!!'
Donald Trump claimed that Joe Biden's positive COVID test was phony, demanded he resign and issued an ultimatum to likely new opponent Kamala Harris
The former president added that he believes Biden is 'going to wake up and forget that he dropped out of the race today!'
Trump then seemingly issued an ultimatum regarding a scheduled debate with likely new election opponent Kamala Harris following Biden's announcement.
He appears to have some conditions regarding their tussle, which is currently scheduled for September 10 in a yet to be announced location, that he made clear in a post to Truth Social.
'My debate with Crooked Joe Biden, the Worst President in the history of the United States, was slated to be broadcast on Fake News ABC, the home of George Slopadopolus, sometime in September,' he wrote.
Trump is referring to ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos, who was not slated to moderate the contest.
Fellow ABC News personalities David Muir and Linsey Davis were set to host but now Trump wants a change in network.
The former president continued: 'Now that Joe has, not surprisingly, has quit the race, I think the Debate, with whomever the Radical Left Democrats choose, should be held on FoxNews, rather than very biased ABC. Thank you! DJT'
Polls are showing mixed signals for Harris, with some overall positives but potential flaws in the key swing states.
Trump tried to hit home Biden's lack of fitness to run the country for the last six months of his term
National polling averages show Harris trailing Biden 48 to 46 percent, according to the New York Times.
That is an improvement on Biden's scores in the same polls, which showed Trump beating him 47-44.
In swing states and even states that have turned reliably blue in recent elections, Harris out-polls Biden even when losing.
She's within one point - 48-47 - of Trump in Pennsylvania, besting Biden, who was losing 48-45 to Trump.
In Virginia, she leads Trump by five points over Biden, who only leads Trump by four percentage points.
However, those polls were conducted before the assassination attempt on former President Trump and before Biden dropped out.
In a poll conducted from July 9-18 surveying 1,000 Georgians, Trump leads Harris by a 51-46 count, however Harris polled better than Biden among all voters, black voters and Democrats.
It comes after Biden announced Sunday afternoon he would not seek reelection and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for the nomination.
He was isolating with COVID at his $3.4 million holiday home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, when his shrinking inner circle handed him polling data showing he could no longer beat Donald Trump.
Trump seemingly issued an ultimatum regarding a scheduled debate with likely new election opponent Kamala Harris following Biden's announcement
That was when they composed a letter saying it was time for him to step aside for the good of the future of the Democratic party.
Donors had pulled millions of dollars in funds, the list of Democrats telling him to drop out was growing by the day, and polls suggested that his chances of beating Donald Trump were dwindling after his disastrous debate performance.
Jill Biden was there when her husband eventually made the historic call, giving into mounting pressure. But a spokeswoman for the First Lady said it was the president's judgment alone, and confirmed he made it late.
'Down to the last hours of the decision only he could make, she (Jill Biden) was supportive of whatever road he chose,' the spokeswoman said. 'She’s his biggest believer, champion, and always on his side, in that trusted way only a spouse of almost 50 years can be.'
The question now is what pushed Biden to finally make the extraordinary move that blindsided some of his White House staff and most of the people working on his re-election campaign.
On Saturday evening, Biden summoned to his side two men who have been there since his political start: advisers Steve Ricchetti and Mike Donilon. They have been with him through the best of times - his first years as a senator - and the worst of times - the death of his son Beau Biden in 2015.
Already with the president and the first lady were their closest aides Annie Tomasini and Anthony Bernal, who they refer to as 'family.'
It was Ricchetti and Donilon who brought with them devastating new data which would help to make up Biden's mind.
It comes after Biden announced Sunday afternoon he would not seek reelection and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for the nomination
Biden announced his historic decision to step aside in a one-page letter where he committed to completing his term, but did not fully endorse Vice President Kamala Harris as his replacement
They revealed the latest internal campaign polling, taken since the debate, which showed he could no longer beat Trump.
Biden's decision was made soon after, and he asked Ricchetti and Donilon to start drafting a letter, and to begin the process of how to make a public announcement, DailyMail.com confirmed. The president also began telling his family.
Biden had previously insisted that he would only step aside if he was shown polling that proved Kamala Harris would fare better than him against Trump, or if he developed a 'medical condition'. In the end, it was the first of those developments that sealed his fate.
Biden went to bed on Saturday night at the beach house, knowing he would announce his bombshell the next day.
At 1:45 pm on Sunday he began calling his senior staff at the White House and the campaign.
By that time he had already told Harris and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
At 1:46 pm, his campaign account posted a letter from the president announcing his decision even as he was still on the staff call.
Most of his staff – both in the White House and at the campaign - were shocked. They learned the news online, getting the alert when the @JoeBiden account posted the president's missive.
At 1:45 pm on Sunday he began calling his senior staff at the White House and the campaign. By that time he had already told Harris and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer
'No one had a heads up before the tweet posted,' a campaign staffer told DailyMail.com. 'Which, to me, is an insane way to treat the 1300 people that work for you on the campaign.'
It capped a chaotic 48 hours for the Biden family as they hunkered in behind their patriarch with a small, inner circle of longtime aides supporting them. Some were even reporting back to Jill Biden about those staffers deemed disloyal.
Meanwhile, Biden had veered from angry at the pressure from his party to acceptance of the situation.
And once his final decision was made on Saturday night, the rest moved quickly.
Biden called Harris directly to tell her the news.
He also had one-on-one calls with White House chief of staff Jeff Zients and campaign chair Jen O'Malley Dillon, according to reports. He would also speak with his Cabinet, Members of Congress, governors, and supporters.
But it all happened so fast many staff were hurt about the way they learned of the news, although they weren't surprised by it.
Harris then announced she was running for the Democratic presidential nomination.
A number of prominent Democrats have already come out in support of Harris including Governors Gavin Newsom, Josh Shapiro, Senator Mark Kelly and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, but it is not a done deal.
Former Democrat-turned-independent West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin has made noise about potentially re-registering with the party to mount a challenge.
Regardless, Trump has said already that he thinks Harris will be even easier to defeat than Biden.
Biden called Harris directly to tell her the news on Saturday night
Trump has said already that he thinks Harris will be even easier to defeat than Biden
At his first rally after being shot, Trump already tried out a new nickname for her as he saw the writing on the wall for Harris taking over the Democrats' campaign.
'From the moment we take back the White House from crooked Joe Biden and Kamala ... I call her laughing Kamala. You ever watch her? She's crazy,' Trump said at his rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan on Saturday.
He added: 'You can tell a lot by laughter she's crazy. She's nuts. She's not as crazy as Nancy [Pelosi].'
The former president also took to his Truth Social account on Sunday afternoon to respond to the news that he will no longer face Biden in November.
'Crooked Joe Biden was not fit to run for President, and is certainly not fit to serve - And never was! He only attained the position of President by lies, Fake News, and not leaving his Basement,' he wrote. 'All those around him, including his Doctor and the Media, knew that he wasn't capable of being President, and he wasn't.'
Trump concluded: 'We will suffer greatly because of his presidency, but we will remedy the damage he has done very quickly.'
Biden was not yet the Democratic Party's official nominee and there is still a short time to replace him before the Democratic National Convention next month and avoid an open convention.
The party's nomination event falls August 19-22 in Chicago, Illinois. It now appears that Harris will be at the top of the Democratic ticket by the end of that week after primary voters cast their ballots for Biden to be the nominee.
President Joe Biden, from left, walks with White House deputy chief of staff Annie Tomasini, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, White House deputy chief of staff Bruce Reed and White House communications director Ben LaBolt in April
Harris was initially furious over reports she was not being considered for the spot – but it soon became clear to Democrats she was the best option to replace Biden.
Now kicks off the veepstakes for the current VP to choose her No. 2. Among the short list could be the likes of California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, both previously floated as potential replacements for Biden if he would drop out.
A local NBC affiliate in Sacramento, California reported on Sunday that Newsom has abruptly canceled his appearance at the U.S. Ninth Circuit judicial conference scheduled for Monday without any reason given.
Trump was among those that speculated former First Lady Michelle Obama would jump in the race and lead the 2024 Democratic ticket. She so far has polled best out of any other potential Biden replacements.
But Biden made it clear that he is backing his VP for the 2024 race.
'My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President,' the President wrote on X. 'And it's been the best decision I've made.'
He added: 'Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats — it's time to come together and beat Trump. Let's do this. '