Last Tuesday, former First Lady Michelle Obama and former President Barack Obama spoke at the DNC in Chicago. This came after President Joe Biden gave his address late on Monday night and was then gone from what was supposed to be the convention to nominate him until he dropped out on July 21. Earlier on Monday, the Daily Mail put out a damning report highlighting how the former first lady did not mention Biden's name during her 23-minute speech, and that it was a purposeful move.
As the report, which mentioned the Democrats in disarray when it comes to ousting Biden, mentioned [Emphasis original]:
On Tuesday, the turbulence continued, as Michelle and Barack Obama took the keynote slots in Chicago's United Center.
While Barack lauded his former Vice President with praise, referring to him as his 'brother' and thanking him for his service, Michelle notably did not name Biden a single time during her rousing, 23-minute speech.
Was it a snub? Insiders say it was — adding that the former First Lady allegedly refused to speak at the convention while Biden was still in the 2024 race.
Michelle is said to remain angry with the Bidens over their treatment of her close friend Kathleen Buhle, Hunter Biden's ex-wife.
Buhle has been exiled by the family during a lengthy separation from Hunter dating back to 2017.
Michelle never campaigned for Biden when he was the nominee and, sources say, only confirmed her DNC speaking slot after he was out the way.
Not only did Biden and the Obamas speak on different nights, but the president's speech was so delayed that he didn't even exit the stage until past midnight, and thus way past primetime.
As the report also mentioned:
Last Monday, Biden had flown in to Chicago to address the first night of the Democratic National Convention.
Scheduled to speak at around 10.30pm (ET), the evening was meant to be his swan song, a farewell to the party faithful and a passing of the torch to his Vice President and the new Democratic nominee, Kamala Harris.
In the end, he didn't speak until well past primetime — leaving the stage at 12.15am when most of America had long gone to bed.
A crowded speaking schedule meant that a planned video tribute to the president had to be cut at the last minute — as did the expected performance by James Taylor, one of Biden's favorite singers — in a desperate bid to get him on stage before midnight.
Jill and their daughter Ashley spoke to introduce Biden, with many noting how brief the two women's remarks seemed to be — though the White House insists neither speech was shortened.
Nonetheless, the organisational failure will have done little to help what has been described in recent weeks as the First Lady's growing feeling of 'betrayal' at how the Democratic party has treated her husband.
Recommended
Not helping Biden's image as an old man unfit for the race or the office is that the report began by mentioning how he was "visibly shaking" as he disembarked Air Force One early last Tuesday morning, though he had been up for nearly 24 hours.
The Obamas and the Bidens were not the only ones who looked to have purposefully avoided one another. Harris wasn't even present at the DNC when the Obamas or even her own husband, Doug Emhoff, gave their speeches, though she did have her plane circle to watch his speech. Instead, she was at a campaign event in Milwaukee with Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), her running mate. This too is said to have been purposeful.
With reports like this, of the continued feud between the Obamas and Bidens continues to be noteworthy even more than a month after the president withdrew from the race in a letter posted to his X account.
In the days leading up to Biden withdrawing from the race, following that disastrous debate performance against former and potentially future President Donald Trump on June 27, Obama was said to have been part of a behind the scenes effort to force Biden out. More damning details continued to come out afterwards as well.
When Biden did drop out on a Sunday, it wasn't until early Friday morning that the Obamas officially endorsed Harris, through a particularly cringeworthy phone call which she took on speaker phone and still held up to her ear. Cringeworthy phone calls look to be the norm for Harris, though, especially when it comes to the calls she's had with Walz.
Other top Democrats involved in ousting Biden included Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), who was perhaps most responsible. She gave her own address last Wednesday, though what was likely most remembered is that a white square, perhaps toilet paper or notes, fell out of her pocket as she walked to the podium.
As Biden gave his speech on Monday, she could be seen awkwardly waving her "We Heart Joe" placard, quite ironically given her role in replacing him as the nominee.
Does Nancy Pelosi seem pleased that her coup against Joe Biden was successful? pic.twitter.com/TUyEeR7UiX
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) August 20, 2024
The report has more details about the Pelosi-Biden feud as well:
Meanwhile, seated in the front row, watching it all, was the woman who led the charge against Biden: Nancy Pelosi.
Asked by the Mail on Monday if he was still angry with Pelosi or if he has spoken to her recently, Biden simply replied: 'No, I haven't spoken to her.'
However, it is understood that the president has been keen to exact his revenge — namely with his full-throated endorsement of Harris as the new party nominee.
Pelosi and Harris are both from California but are not close. When Harris first ran for the state's attorney general role in 2010, Pelosi endorsed a rival candidate.
After Biden dropped out, Pelosi had been in favor of an open convention instead of a coronation for Harris, with whom she is said to have serious reservations.
There is strong speculation that Biden endorsed Harris within hours of his withdrawal precisely to aggravate Pelosi — and to stop her from pushing Harris out, just as she'd done to him.
The television cameras were trained on Pelosi as Biden addressed the convention on Monday. She sat with the California delegation, holding a 'We heart Joe' sign and awkwardly mouthing along to chants of 'We love you'.
Biden aides are keen to stress that Joe and Jill have 'moved on' and are 'looking forward' — but insiders say otherwise.
Indeed, Biden is also said to have maintained a lingering resentment for his old boss, after Obama favored Hillary Clinton's candidacy over his own back in 2016.
This isn't the only drama from the DNC to come out days later. As Mia covered earlier on Monday, Kelley Robinson, the president of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and a surrogate for Harris, dismissed the Bill of Rights as "what our founders put down on that little piece of paper."
Join the conversation as a VIP Member