Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said on Fox News on Friday that President Joe Biden's angry, partisan State of the Union speech came from a place of worry that Democrats would replace him on the 2024 presidential ticket. 

“That was a pretty just vicious political screed," host Jesse Watters said.

"It was, and you want to know why?” McCarthy replied. “I mean, remember, they wrote this speech, they practiced this speech, and what did they want to achieve by it? He wasn’t speaking to the nation, what he was really doing is speaking to his party. This was more about a convention. I think he was worried about Democrats, removing him for the nominee. That’s why he came out. He tried to show every Democrat — you know, you’ve got to be tougher. You’ve got to be stronger, and all he did was look mean and angry.”

McCarthy acknowledged that the speech would not really help Biden in the election, but his fear got the getter of him as his poll numbers continue to sink.

"Worried"

“That doesn’t bring him more votes, but he is really playing, worried that the Democrats would take him off the ticket, worried about what’s going to happen in Chicago and trying to solidify that, instead of governing the nation,” he added.

McCarthy pointed out Biden's weaknesses on the border, the economy and foreign policy, including the fact that the U.S. has been forced to evacuate five embassies on Biden's watch.

"He's trying to deflect, be angry so you can't question him," McCarthy said.

There has been speculation in recent weeks that the party could try to replace Biden at the Democrat National Convention in June, possibly with former First Lady Michelle Obama, who is popular with the public after two bestselling novels and numerous Netflix deals.

Some are trying

A few Democrats like former Obama advisor David Axelrod have suggested publicly that Biden should be replaced, but so far no actions have been taken.

The special counsel report on the classified documents found in his possession dealt him a blow by saying his memory was too diminished for him to even stand trial, even as it basically absolved him from any prosecution.

Despite it all, Biden and his team insist that he is capable not only of running the country now but for close to the next five years.

If his poll numbers don't improve, however, the questions about his capabilities are likely to grow even more, and Democrats may decide that they don't want to risk losing power.

It didn't work

Speeches like Thursday night's are not likely to make him more popular with voters, and with him stumbling over his words more and more, won't alleviate concerns about his age, either.

Even the media, which usually shields him from tough questions and tries to prop him up, may decide that it's better to cut and run than to go down with the sinking ship.