Report: Jill Biden seeking revenge against those who pushed Joe Biden aside
Since the summer, it has been rumored that the Biden family is furious with the perceived betrayal of their presumptive Democratic allies who helped force President Joe Biden to end his re-election bid in July following a disastrous debate performance against President-elect Donald Trump a month prior.
Now comes a report that outgoing first lady Jill Biden is out for vengeance against a litany of individuals and entities that she views as the most responsible for pushing the elderly president to the side, Radar Online reported.
She is said to be privately encouraging her husband to seek revenge against the Washington D.C. political establishment and to "burn the whole thing down" before he exits the White House for the final time next month.
Jill set on getting revenge
The Daily Mail reported this week that a "vengeful" Jill Biden has prioritized "settling scores" against perceived allies-turned-enemies as the president's term draws near its end.
"Jill views Democrats on Capitol Hill, the [Democratic] Party, the Obamas, staff inside and outside the White House, the media, and all of Washington DC with such misguided resentment that I can't imagine she [isn't] encouraging [Joe] to burn the whole thing down, despite his better judgment," an anonymous D.C. insider told the outlet.
Likely at or near the top of her revenge list is former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), previously a close ally of President Biden for decades who is reported to have been a driving force in convincing Biden to end his re-election bid.
It was noted that Biden has largely given Pelosi the silent treatment and kept her at arm's length since the events of the summer, as exemplified by the recent annual Kennedy Center Honors event, in which the ex-speaker and her husband, who in previous years joined the Bidens in the elevated presidential box, were instead assigned to seating in the orchestra section on the floor.
Also perhaps on the list is Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, who were also at the Kennedy Center Honors event and were seated next to the president and first lady in the presidential box but were reportedly ignored and given the cold shoulder by the Bidens.
Naming Harris an act of vengeance?
Interestingly enough, the Daily Mail report seemed to suggest that VP Harris, in her failed role as the Democratic nominee, was herself a form of revenge by the Bidens against the D.C. establishment and Democratic power brokers, in that she almost certainly would not have been their choice to replace President Biden on the party's ticket.
Indeed, prior to Biden dropping out of the race, after which he immediately endorsed Harris as his hand-picked replacement, there had been ample talk about holding a sort of mini-primary with multiple candidates on a condensed time frame to select Biden's successor as the nominee, which was short-circuited by Biden's endorsement.
One believer of that theory is Florida attorney John Morgan, a Democratic megadonor and loyal Biden ally for decades, who told the outlet that Biden "basically had the palace coup from all directions, from George Clooney to Pelosi. I think he got pissed off, said, 'F--k you,' and gave us Harris."
"Pelosi had told her delegation that there would be a convention and a nominating process. And Barack Obama did not endorse [Harris] for five days," he added with a mention of the former president who is also reported to have played a major role in ousting Biden from his re-election bid.
Pelosi viewed as a "villain" in Bidenworld
To be sure, none of this speculation about the Bidens seeking vengeance against their perceived enemies is particularly new, as NBC News reported in August that ex-Speaker Pelosi had been transformed into a "villain" among the president's loyal inner circle because of the way she'd helped to force him to step aside from his campaign for a second term.
That said, the outlet noted at the time that in the view of many Democrats, Pelosi was a hero for what she'd accomplished, given the fears that Biden would lose a rematch against Trump and the misperception that anyone -- including Harris -- would have a better chance to defeat the hated Republican nominee.