Michelle Obama for president? Ted Cruz thinks she could be the Democratic nominee
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, doubled down on his prediction that Democrats will “dump Biden” and tap former First Lady Michelle Obama as their party’s nominee.
“Watching Biden’s excruciating debate performance tonight, I believe the odds are now greater than 80% that the Dems dump Biden,” Cruz said in a post on X, formerly called Twitter, during Thursday’s presidential debate. “Nine months ago, on Verdict I predicted that the Dems would replace Biden with Michelle Obama. I think that’s going to happen.”
Cruz on his podcast “Verdict” in September said: “So here’s the scenario that I think is perhaps most likely and most dangerous. In August of 2024, the Democrat kingmakers jettison Joe Biden and parachute in Michelle Obama. ... I view this as a very serious danger.”
Obama has said she will not run for president. When reached for comment, a spokesperson for the first lady reiterated this point, sending a previous statement from March 2024.
“As former First Lady Michelle Obama has expressed several times over the years, she will not be running for president,” Crystal Carson, director of communications for the Office of Michelle Obama, said at the time. “Mrs. Obama supports President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ re-election campaign.”
A spokesperson for Biden’s campaign did not immediately return a request for comment.
A source close to the campaign said Joe Biden will be the Democratic nominee, pointing out that Biden is the only candidate to ever defeat Trump and adding that the fight to win will continue until November. Biden could have performed better, but there’s historical president for incumbent presidents preforming badly in their first debate, the source said.
Biden addressed his Thursday debate performance in a speech at a North Carolina campaign rally. Biden said he’s not a young man and doesn’t debate as well as he used to, but assured the crowd that he’s up for the job of president.
“I know, like millions of Americans know: When you get knocked down, you get back up,” Biden said.
If Biden were to drop his presidential bid before Democrat’s convention in August, the nominee would be picked at the convention, according to The New York Times.
Cruz discussed his prediction that Obama will be the nominee in a new episode of his podcast released in the hours after Thursday’s debate. In the episode he bashed Biden’s debate performance and said “nobody fair and objective who watched tonight could conclude anything other than this is a man who is seriously mentally diminished.”
Cruz said it “has to be Michelle” that Democrats tap. Vice President Kamala Harris is next in line, but Democrats recognize she’s a “terrible” and losing nominee, Cruz said. Biden couldn’t be replaced by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, because the Democratic Party would “implode” if Black woman is replaced by a white man, Cruz said.
“So their problem is, the only person on planet Earth who could push Kamala Harris aside is Michelle Obama, another African American woman who stands on a different footing as a former first lady,” Cruz said.
He went on to name two impediments that would stop this from happening: “Number one, Michelle says no. Number two Joe Biden says no.”
Cruz moved up the August timeline he predicted in September 2023, saying “this happens or doesn’t happen in three weeks,” he said.
Texas Republicans, including officials representing Tarrant County, questioned Biden’s fitness for the presidency on social media during the debate.
“I hope this debate is illuminating to those who believe Joe Biden is actually capable of serving four more years as President,” Tarrant County Commissioner Manny Ramirez said on X. “It should be crystal clear, he’s not.”
Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare said, “It is clear after answer #1. Joe Biden doesn’t have the mental capacity to serve 4 more days as President, let alone 4 more years.”
When asked about voter concerns over his age, Biden, 81, said Trump, 78, is “a lot less competent,” according to CNN, which hosted the debate at its studio in Atlanta.
There have also been Democrats raising concerns about Biden’s performance, with reports of some saying he should end his presidential bid.
“Biden had a very low bar going into the debate and failed to clear even that bar,” former HUD Secretary Julián Castro said in a post on X. “He seemed unprepared, lost, and not strong enough to parry effectively with Trump, who lies constantly.”
This story was originally published June 27, 2024 at 9:39 PM.
