Did President Joe Biden willingly remove himself from the 2024 presidential race?
Or, was be forced out by some of his closest political allies?
If you ask former president Donald Trump, he believes it’s the later.
On Wednesday, Trump posted a meme photo on his Truth Social page of Harris that declares she “supports defunding the police,” and added a comment “and staged a coup to get Crooked Joe out!!!”
But Trump didn’t stop there.
Per a Daily Mail report, Trump told reporters in a briefing call that Biden and former President Barack Obama do not like each other — and said he believes recent reports suggesting Obama had threatened Biden with the 25th Amendment to remove him if he did not step away from the race.
“That was a coup on an American president,” Trump said. “Obama doesn’t like [Biden] and he doesn’t like Obama.”
Trump’s speculation of the internal “force out” could have stemmed from journalist Seymour Hersh, who recently posted a report on Substack claiming that former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., were all deeply involved in a coup to remove Biden from the race.
Hersh also said that just hours before Biden bowed out, Obama called him, too.
According to the Daily Mail report, Hersh, quoting an unnamed source, reported that Obama told Biden that “We have Kamala’s approval to invoke the 25th Amendment.”
In other words, Biden was potentially going to be forced out whether he liked it or not.
“That’s what happened, we’ll do it the easy way or the hard way,” Trump told reporters.
Ironically, Biden gave Harris his full endorsement and support after leaving the presidential race.
Earlier this month, Biden addressed his decision to abandon his race for a second term, telling Americans, “the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation.”
“I revere this office. But I love my country more,” Biden said in a primetime TV address. “It’s been the honor of my life to serve as your president, but in defense of democracy, which is a stake, I think it’s more important than any title.”
Biden said stepping aside was “the best way to unite” the country.