Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R) put forth a theory Monday about what Democrats could do if they decide to force President Joe Biden to retire rather than run for re-election in 2024: he thinks Michelle Obama will be drafted to take his place just a few months before the general election.
“Here’s the scenario that I think is perhaps the most likely and most dangerous,” Cruz said on his “Verdict with Ted Cruz” podcast. “In August of 2024, the Democrat kingmakers jettison Joe Biden and parachute in Michelle Obama.”
Cruz thinks that running Obama will avoid having a number of left-wing candidates split the vote and will make Obama more likely to accept the nomination because she won't be subjected to a lengthy campaign.
The candidates who will probably want to jump into the race if Biden exits include Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Vice President Kamala Harris, and California Governor Gavin Newsom (D).
Verdict co-host Ben Ferguson and Cruz both admitted that the prospect of an Obama candidacy is "terrifying" because her husband was a popular president and she would be "to the left" of his policies.
“Barack Obama is already running the Biden administration,” Cruz said. “I think he is already the puppet master, behind this Biden White House, I don’t think Joe Biden is the decision maker. And so, when I see the media turning on Joe Biden right now, I think the odds of Michelle Obama parachuting in in August of 2024 have risen dramatically.”
Cruz thinks Michelle Obama could "unify the Democrat party" by making it look like the Obamas are swooping in to "save the day."
Michelle Obama has been mentioned as a candidate frequently since before the 2020 election, but sources have said that she does not want to run.
It could still be the case that she declines to be the party "savior," Cruz speculated, but she is undoubtedly Democrats' best hope of winning 2024 if Biden retires.
Despite Biden's approval numbers being down in the 30s, he still remains the frontrunner for the Democrat nomination with no serious challengers.
Democrats are seeing his numbers continuing to fall, however, and many are wondering if they should replace him now before October deadlines for candidates to get into the race pass.
As recently as April, Michelle Obama told Oprah that she would "never" run for president, so it could be a hard sell.
But the power of being the leader of the free world is quite seductive, so who knows whether she will change her mind if given a real chance.
