John Rich has shared his thoughts on what will happen if President Joe Biden is relieved of the presidency, and his comment about how Kamala Harris might take over has gone viral.
Political observers view the 2024 election as one of the most important in modern history, as Biden and Donald Trump, the presumptive Democratic and Republican presidential nominees respectively, are set to face off in a rematch of 2020.
Biden’s mental fitness has been the subject of wide speculation since his troubling performance in the June 27 presidential debate with Trump, when the incumbent at times appeared to lose his train of thought and have difficulty speaking clearly. Biden has repeatedly said that he will stay in the race despite being under increasing pressure to withdraw his candidacy.
Now Rich has shared one theory about how the government could play out in the coming days or months.
“If they relieve Joe of the presidency with the 25th amendment, Kamala becomes president. However, the House of Representatives and Senate have to confirm her VP. Play that one out…,” the country singer posted to X, formerly Twitter.
The 25th Amendment states that if the president dies, resigns, or is removed from office through impeachment, the vice president becomes president.
Newsweek emailed spokespeople for Biden, Harris, and Rich for comment on Tuesday.
Rich’s post went viral and at the time of writing, it had been viewed over 171,000 times—and it caused a debate in the comments.
“just leave things alone!,, we have 4 mo. that’s all,, I want them to lose all down ballet,” one person wrote, to which Rich responded: “7 months till the next inauguration.”
“Removing someone by the 25th Amendment takes a 2/3 vote in both Chambers of Congress. It’s not going to happen. An impeachment would be easier,” someone else said.
Country singer John Rich and Vice President Kamala Harris. Rich has said that if President Joe Biden is relieved of the presidency, she will become president and will have to choose a Vice President. Country singer John Rich and Vice President Kamala Harris. Rich has said that if President Joe Biden is relieved of the presidency, she will become president and will have to choose a Vice President. Jason Kempin/Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images/Getty Images for The New York Times
“There’s no reason for Republicans to confirm a VP when, by not having a VP, that leaves Mike Johnson next in line if anything happens to Kamala. And as you know, the VP doesn’t actually do anything besides go to funerals and other events that the President is too busy to go to,” a different X user wrote.
A fourth person added: “No to the 25th Amendment…. Leave Joe there… we will win.”
Polling website FiveThirtyEight’s election simulations, which are based on polling, demographics and other factors, suggest that Biden has a nearly even chance of being reelected regardless of his recent difficulties, winning 48 out of 100 simulations as of Monday.
Additionally, FiveThirtyEight simulations indicate that Harris—Biden’s most likely replacement—currently has significantly slimmer chances of defeating Trump, winning just 31 percent of simulated elections.
Harris—the first woman, Black person and person of South Asian descent to serve as vice president—has been fiercely defending Biden as he faces growing pressure to drop out of the presidential race following his disastrous debate performance.
Since Harris isn’t much more popular than Biden in polling, if she became the Democratic nominee, she would face the difficult challenge of choosing a running mate who would give her the best chance of beating Trump and becoming the nation’s first woman president.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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