A video featuring both President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama having what seems to be a very secretive and intense conversation during the memorial service for Ethel Kennedy, the widow of Robert F. Kennedy, has been making all kinds of noise on social media with many speculating on what the two men might have been chatting about.
A professional lip reader, Jeremy Freeman, was hired by the folks at The New York Post to take a closer look at the video and see if he could figure out what was being discussed. Freeman said the conversation turned to the topic of Vice President Kamala Harris and how her strength is being perceived by the American people. Biden is reported to have said, “She’s not as strong as me,” making a reference to Harris. Obama replied to the president by saying, “I know…that’s true.”
Ouch.
If you’re Kamala Harris and you find out about this video and what was being discussed, that’s got to feel like a rather large butcher knife to the spine. If these two don’t have much faith in her strength, why should anyone else? However, I don’t think many American voters have thought the vice president was strong to begin with. What’s worrisome about her lack of strength, however, is that if she wins the election — please pray this does not come to pass — she will have to negotiate with hard cases like Russian President Vladimir Putin. I have no doubt she will melt into a puddle of water being in the same room with someone like that.
The two continued their discussion, with Obama offering some words of reassurance, adding, “We have time.” Biden followed by saying, “Yeah, we’ll get it in time.” Even though Freedman didn’t explicitly mention Harris in his transcription, it’s hard to imagine who else could have been the subject of the discussion. Freedman characterized the conversation as “very supportive” and noted that he sensed “no tension” between Obama and Biden, despite rumors fueled by Obama shaking his head at one point.
The comments suggest a critical assessment of Harris’s candidacy by two of the most influential figures in the Democratic Party. With Biden being forced by fellow Democrats to step aside in July in favor of Harris, who now leads the Democratic ticket, the conversation fuels further speculation about internal party conflicts. Earlier reports from insiders have hinted at growing friction between Harris’s team and Biden’s former White House aides.
“From the outset, there has been widespread concern that Harris was not a strong alternative to Biden, who clearly was a sinking ship. So much so [that] multiple House members floated the idea of an open convention or removing Harris from the ticket along with Biden,” one Democratic source stated in an interview with The Post. “Democrats essentially robbed Peter to pay Paul and are now stuck with a less likable sinking ship.”
Before the president decided to bolt out of the race amid the pressure applied to him from folks he believed were his supporters and friends within the Democratic Party, several sources close to him suggested that his less than friendly feelings toward Obama led him to continue his campaign out of spite. However, after he finally stepped down from the nomination, Obama called the decision reflective of Biden’s “love of country.”
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