NATIONAL HARBOR, Maryland — Republican voters attending the Conservative Political Action Conference this week have made clear they’ll vote for former President Donald Trump — but many have expressed concerns about who he may face on the ballot come November.
As voters raise concerns about President Joe Biden’s age and political viability, some Republicans are openly suggesting he may not last long enough to remain the Democratic Party’s nominee by the time they cast their ballots.
“I can’t see how that’s possible, but I never saw him being president,” said Amy, 50, a CPAC attendee visiting from Delaware. “I couldn’t see how that was possible, and it happened.”
“I don’t know if he makes it to tomorrow,” added Ann, 40, from Texas.
The possibility that Biden would not be the nominee took center stage during the annual conservative gathering, especially after one panel of CPAC speakers theorized a plan by the Democratic Party to replace the incumbent on the 2024 ticket.
It’s not clear who the party would use in lieu of Biden, but the panel named two top contenders: former first lady Michelle Obama and Vice President Kamala Harris.
“This is what I said two years ago when I first put this out there, that we need to be prepared for the worst-case scenario, and Michelle Obama is the worst-case scenario because she poses the most threatening challenge to President Trump,” said conservative commentator Monica Crowley. “They could make the switch, and they could position Michelle as the reluctant candidate who really didn’t want to do this but needs to do it to save her country.”
The panel also surmised that Biden could step down from the presidency altogether, making Harris the first female president and giving her a boost as a historic incumbent.
“I think that, obviously, if Joe Biden can’t actually stand trial, he can’t be president of the United States,” said conservative commentator Larry O’Connor. “He steps down, not just from the ticket, but he steps down from the White House. Kamala Harris then becomes president of the United States and runs as a historic figure, our first woman president, and she’s running as an incumbent from the convention for those 10 weeks. Because I don’t see how they get rid of her.”
Other attendees pointed to a recent special counsel report that has raised fresh questions about Biden’s cognitive and mental acuity.
Special Counsel Robert Hur released the long-awaited findings of his investigation into whether Biden mishandled classified documents after leaving the White House in 2017. However, the report did not result in criminal charges, noting that was partly due to Biden’s ability to portray himself as “a sympathetic, well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory.”
“The DOJ just said that he wasn’t competent enough to stand trial. So how can he be competent to be our president?” CPAC attendee Roberta Curtin said. “They’re going to pull him out. Kamala is going to be president until November, but at the [Democratic National Convention], Michelle Obama’s gonna swoop in and they’re gonna make her the nominee. And then that way, she only has to campaign for a couple of months.”
Biden has made no indication he plans to step down from office, nor has he suggested he would not carry out a full term if he’s reelected in 2024.
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Despite uncertainty on who Trump may face in November, several Republican voters remained confident the former president would be victorious.
“That’s up in the air; we have no control over it,” said Suzanne Gallagher, national director of the Parents Rights in Education, when asked about who the Democratic nominee would be. “But we’ll deal with that when the decision is made by the Democrats. Either way they go, whatever they do, we will prevail.”
Hailey Bullis and David Sivak contributed to this report.
