Former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich detailed “for the first time” Monday on Fox News his thoughts on why President Joe Biden might not be the Democratic nominee, listing other potential candidates.
Gingrich appeared on “Hannity” to discuss Biden’s continuing low polling among voters, with former President Donald Trump gaining leads in policy issues like handling the economy. Fox host Sean Hannity questioned the former house speaker on his stance regarding Vice President Kamala Harris defending Biden. Gingrich then pivoted to his newfound beliefs on the potential change for the Democratic nominee.
Gingrich outlined the reasons for his new position, including Biden’s “cognitive decline.” The former house speaker also noted there could be a possibility of a “genuine rebellion” within the Democrat Party due to the desire to not have Biden on the 2024 ballot. (RELATED: ‘Avoid The Sting Of Humiliation’: Biden Allies Are Reportedly Worried About The Democratic Primary In A Key Early State)
“But I have to say, Sean, tonight really for the first time, I’m beginning to think maybe Biden will not be the nominee. I say that because of the rate of his cognitive decline, the number of recent examples, where he couldn’t remember what he was saying, or couldn’t remember who he was talking to … at some point there may be a genuine rebellion in the Democratic Party that says we can’t put this guy up this fall, because he’ll be helpless. The NBC News report, the poll they did, was devastating. Almost a day later, CNN had a similar poll. It’s very clear that Biden right now is drifting into Jimmy Carter territory, where people just think he’s not competent,” Gingrich stated.
Hannity further questioned the former house speaker on his thoughts regarding possible replacements for Biden and when that would happen, throwing out former first lady Michelle Obama’s name. Gingrich listed off multiple options, which included the former first lady, emphasizing that the issue would be how to convince Biden and Jill to step away from the White House. (RELATED: ‘Fantasyland’: Newt Gingrich Details Dems ‘Huge Problem’ With Voters, Calls Out Newsom’s Attempt To Save Biden)
The former House Speaker said that the new polls were a “real warning” to Democrats, stating their answer to the issue “can’t involve” Biden.
“Kamala Harris could make the argument she should be the replacement. In the left-wing of the Democratic Party that would be fine. The rest of the country would recoil in horror, and she would lose in a landslide. You know, you could have the governor of California, who you’ve had on to debate with Ron DeSantis. You could have the governor of Michigan or Pennsylvania,” Gingrich continued.
“It’s very hard to imagine Michelle Obama, but I have close friends, who are very smart, who are absolutely convinced that she’s going to be the replacement, because she trumps Kamala Harris in being a black woman on a national ticket.”
“I would not – until tonight, it just hit me. It’s all coming in, and it made me realize that we really have to think about the possibility that he may just collapse – the plausibility. That’s where the NBC poll and the follow-up CNN poll are a real warning to the Democrats. Remember also, in the NBC poll, the Republicans are now ahead by a significant margin. Which party do you want to have run the Congress?” Gingrich questioned. “If you’re a democratic operative, you’re looking at a catastrophe at least comparable to 1980 with Ronald Reagan. You begin to think, ‘Well, what do we do to avoid this?’ And the answer can’t involve Joe Biden.”
A national NBC News poll conducted in late January showed Biden trailing former President Donald Trump in various policy issues and physical health. Voters appeared to side with the former president over Biden by nearly 35 points on securing the border, roughly 23 points on having the necessary mental and physical health to be in office and over 21 points in dealing with crime and violence, the poll stated.
In late 2023, Democrats grew increasingly concerned over Biden’s campaign, fearing that they had ignored political warning signs and didn’t do enough to turn the direction around.
THROWBACK TO 2016, WHEN GINGRICH EXPLAINED WHY HE PROBABLY SHOULDN’T BE TRUMP’S VP: