Democrats Are Fantasizing About Taylor Swift and Michelle Obama Saving the Election: Report

Joe Biden insisted on Friday that short of “the Lord Almighty” telling him to drop out of the presidential race, he would stick it out and face Donald Trump in November. But two Democrats are hoping he has a change of heart so that they can implement a new plan to save the party’s chances—one that involves the participation of Taylor Swift and Michelle Obama.

Semafor reports that Georgetown law professor Rosa Brooks, who served in the Clinton and Obama administrations and as a volunteer policy adviser to Biden’s 2020 campaign, and venture capitalist Ted Dintersmith, who has donated to a number of Democratic campaigns, have circulated a memo proposing that:

Biden step down as the nominee within the next week or so and, with the backing of Kamala Harris, announce the party’s switch to a “blitz primary”Individuals who think they should be president have “a few days to throw their respective hats in the ring,” leading to “a primary sprint in which the six candidates who receive the most votes from delegates pledge to run positive-only campaigns in the month leading up to the convention”Each week, “cultural icons” like Swift, Obama, and Oprah sit down with the candidates to get voters excitedThe nominee—chosen by delegates using ranked-choice voting—is announced on the third day of the Democratic National Convention; Biden, Barack Obama, and Bill Clinton appear onstage together for the announcementThe authors reportedly believe the plan would work because it would mesmerize the country, score huge donations, and position Biden as a “modern-day George Washington.” They write: “We can limp to shameful, avoidable democracy-ending defeat. Or Democrats can make this Our Finest Hour.”

Of course, there are a few problems with the idea, not least of which is the fact that Biden apparently remains resolute in his commitment to staying in the race; a spokesperson for his campaign pointed Semafor to comments the president made last week in Wisconsin, where he said: “I’m not letting one 90-minute debate wipe out three and a half years of work. I’m staying in the race, and I will beat Donald Trump.” Then there’s the fact that, as Semafor notes, “key constituencies” could be irked by the fact that the plan would not automatically make Harris the nominee. Also, a competitive race would make the “positive-only” rule impossible. And it’s not clear that Swift or the former first lady would want anything to do with any of this. (A spokesperson for Swift did not respond to Vanity Fair’s request for comment. While the idea of Michelle Obama chatting with candidates is probably more reasonable than the fever dream of her running, it’s likely still a long shot.)

Meanwhile, the news concerning Biden continues to look more and more bleak. On Tuesday, The New York Times reported that “an expert on Parkinson’s disease from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center visited the White House eight times in eight months from last summer through this spring, including at least once for a meeting with President Biden’s physician, according to official visitor logs.” The expert, Dr. Kevin Cannard, did not respond to requests for comment from the Times; the White House commented generally that “a wide variety of specialists from the Walter Reed system visit the White House complex to treat the thousands of military personnel who work on the grounds.” After Biden’s annual physical in late February, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, the White House physician, wrote in a six-page letter that the president had undergone “an extremely detailed neurologic exam” that had showed “no findings which would be consistent with” Parkinson’s, or stroke, or other central neurological disorders. So it’s possible Cannard’s meetings don’t mean anything re: Biden’s health.

On the other hand, even if Biden did have Parkinson’s, having him run the country would arguably be preferable to this.

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