Following a June 27 presidential debate that almost universally has been dubbed “disastrous” for President Joe Biden, Democrats from California to Maine have been struggling to decide on a path forward. Keep Biden, who has already clinched enough delegates to be renominated? Replace him with someone else, and if so, whom?
On Tuesday, Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) became the first sitting Democratic official to call for Biden to withdraw from the race, but he is unlikely to be the last one. San Francisco’s own Rep. Nancy Pelosi told MSNBC that “it’s a legitimate question” whether Biden’s poor performance represented a serious limiting factor in his abilities, and she added that both major candidates should take mental acuity and health tests. Though she’s no longer minority leader in the House, her words carry a lot of weight with the Democratic caucus, and is expected to be seen as a green light by some in her party to question Biden’s candidacy.
The disarray has caused a lot of questions about what could be done, and to answer some of those questions, the cohosts of the Voice of San Francisco’s weekly podcast hit the books — the history books — and this week released a special episode explaining how we got here and what the law says could happen going forward.
Pelosi’s words still carry a lot of weight with the Democratic caucus, and is expected to be seen as a green light by some in her party to question Biden’s candidacy
Voice Weekly co-host Melissa Caen, an attorney and former CBS Bay Area political analyst, addresses three main questions: If Biden were to actually resign from the presidency early and Kamala Harris becomes president, who becomes vice president? Could there be a Harris–Newsom or Newsom–Harris ticket? And could a popular two-term president, such as Barack Obama, run for vice president, and later become president?
Answering those questions takes us through a wild ride from the constitutional convention in Philadelphia to “Tippecanoe and Tyler Too” and even President Eisenhower’s hidden sense of humor.
Listen below or download the episode wherever you get your favorite podcasts.
