Republican leaders, including Donald Trump and JD Vance, have alleged that the Democrats conducted a "bloodless coup" to replace President Joe Biden as their nominee for the 2024 presidential election. These allegations arose after Biden, currently out of the public eye due to Covid, posted on social media that he would not run for re-election and endorsed Vice-President Kamala Harris as the presidential candidate.
House Speaker Mike Johnson claimed that the Democratic Party forced Biden out just over 100 days before the election. Johnson asserted that Biden was the official Democratic nominee, though his candidacy was to be finalized at the Democratic National Convention scheduled for August 19.Â
Among the Democrats accused by Republicans of orchestrating the so-called coup are Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama. Nancy Pelosi formally endorsed Kamala Harris as the Democratic presidential nominee, and Senator Tom Cotton from Arkansas echoed these allegations, claiming Biden was ousted by influential party figures and Hollywood donors.
Trump, while speaking on Fox News, hinted at the possibility of a coup, and JD Vance suggested that if Biden were mentally incapable of serving, the 25th Amendment should have been invoked. Vance criticized how Biden's withdrawal was handled, arguing that it was done in a way most beneficial to Democrats.
The allegations prompted a range of reactions. Some Republicans, like Paul Gosar, declared that the coup was complete, while others, like Josh Hammer and Tom Fitton, expressed their concerns on social media. In contrast, Democratic Congressman Dean Phillips from Minnesota defended the decision, labeling it a democratic process and countering the Republican narrative of a coup.Â
The situation remains contentious, with both sides offering starkly different interpretations of Biden's withdrawal and the endorsement of Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee.
