Trump campaign began preparing for Biden exit in May, confidential memo shows
The existence of the memo, which has not been previously reported, underscores how the Trump campaign has for months been eyeing the prospect of facing a non-Biden opponent.
Alex Isenstadt
07/22/2024, 5:30pm ET
Exactly one month before Joe Biden’s disastrous debate performance, a Donald Trump campaign staffer distributed a document to top Trump campaign aides.
The subject line: “Nominating An Alternative Democratic Presidential Candidate.”
The 11-page memo, labeled “CONFIDENTIAL DRAFT” and obtained by POLITICO, outlined the ways in which another candidate besides Biden could become the nominee. The scenarios included: “Biden step[ping] aside,” an “insider rebellion,” and an “act of God.”
“Something happens and Joe Biden and the [Democratic National Committee] have no choice but to nominate a replacement at the convention or special meeting of the DNC,” the memo says.
The existence of the memo, which has not been previously reported, underscores how the Trump campaign has for months been eyeing the prospect of facing a non-Biden opponent. Those preparations accelerated after the June 27 debate, when Democrats mounted a pressure campaign to get Biden to remove himself from the ticket.
The document delved deeply into Democratic Party rules — describing, for instance, how delegates could launch an uprising at the convention and deprive Biden of the nomination. It forecasted a scenario in which delegates who were critical of the president’s handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict could “vote against [Biden] based on conscience.”
At the same time, Republicans were closely tracking news coverage. A separate document, which was distributed May 27 and titled "Press Stories Re: Biden Stepping Aside, Convention 'Escape Hatch,'" compiled stories that raised the prospect of an alternative candidate to Biden becoming the nominee. It also highlighted the names of other potential candidates who were mentioned, including Vice President Kamala Harris.
The Trump campaign was also preparing an assault on non-Biden candidates. After the debate, it began preparing opposition on several potential Democratic rivals, and also began discussing who could be a possible vice presidential candidate. And it began crafting videos, which could later be used to target whoever Democrats picked. On Sunday, after Biden dropped out, Republicans released a commercial attacking Harris on immigration — an issue that Trump has made a centerpiece of his campaign.
Other organizations within the broader Trump political operation were also preparing in case Biden dropped out.
MAGA Inc., the principal pro-Trump super PAC, the night of the debate, ordered up opposition research on several would-be Democratic candidates, including Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and even reality TV star and billionaire investor Mark Cuban. But the PAC was mostly focused on Harris.
Before Biden had announced he was stepping aside and endorsing Harris to be the Democratic nominee, MAGA Inc. began creating a TV ad accusing Harris of “cover[ing] up” Biden’s “obvious mental decline” and attacking her record on immigration. The ad is expected to air through the end of the week, and will follow up with several new Harris-focused commercials next week.
The commercial began running in several swing states Sunday, following Biden’s announcement. MAGA Inc. has been coordinating its assault with another pro-Trump group, Preserve America, which is expected to soon begin airing an anti-Harris ad.
https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2024/07/22/kamala-harris-campaign-biden-drop-out/trump-kamala-harris-biden-00170471
