US
President
Joe
Biden
delivers
remarks
on
the
Supreme
Court’s
immunity
ruling
at
the
Cross
Hall
of
the
White
House
in
Washington,
DC
on
July
1,
2024. 

Andrew
Harnik
|
Getty
Images

Two

Democrats

with
a
powerful
network
of
friends
are
circulating
a
proposal
for

President
Joe
Biden

to
bow
out
of
the

2024
race

and
launch
an
expedited
Democratic
primary
to
choose
a
new
nominee
before
the
August
convention.


Rosa
Brooks
,
a
Georgetown
University
law
professor
who
previously
served
in
both
the
Obama
and
Clinton
administrations,
and
Ted
Dintersmith,
a
high-dollar
Democratic
donor,
co-authored
the
proposal,
a
copy
of
which
was
obtained
by
CNBC.
Semafor
was
first
to
report
the
memo.

The
proposal
comes
as
pressure
builds
on

Biden

to
exit
the
race
following
his
stumbling
debate
on
June
27
against
former
President
Donald
Trump.
The
president’s
debate
performance
triggered
alarm
bells
for

Democratic

strategists,
lawmakers,
donors
and
voters,
escalating
lingering
concerns
about
Biden’s
age
and
ability
to
beat
Trump.

Brooks
said
that
she
and
Dintersmith
initially
sent
the
memo
on
Tuesday
to
dozens
of
powerful
Democrats,
including
significant
donors,
Biden
appointees
and
campaign
officials.

As
Brooks
put
it
in
an
interview
with
CNBC,
they
sent
the
plan
to
“Everybody
who
we
thought
might
have
the
ear
of
anybody
who
has
any
influence
over
the
president’s
decision-making.”

The
proposal
lays
out
several
key
steps,
beginning
with
Biden
announcing
that
he
will
exit
the
race
in
mid-July
in
a
“speech
for
the
ages,”
as
the
memo’s
authors
envision
it.

“Overnight,
Biden
is
hailed
as
a
modern-day
George
Washington,
not
an
octogenarian
clinging
to
power
with
a
37%
approval
rating,”
the
proposal
reads.
“From
goat
to
hero.”

The
next
phase
of
the
plan
is
a
“blitz
primary,”
where
prospective
Democratic
candidates
submit
their
bids
and
delegates
of
the
Democratic
National
Convention
ultimately
narrow
down
the
list
to
six
contenders.

The
hypothetical
accelerated
primary
would
involve
a
massive
social
media
content
campaign
to
engage
voters,
including
forums
between
the
candidates
moderated
by
celebrities
like
Oprah
Winfrey,
Taylor
Swift
or
Stephen
Colbert,
according
to
the
memo.

Brooks
and
Dintersmith’s
vision
ends
with
delegates
voting
on
the
final
nominee
at
the
DNC,
which
would
theoretically
benefit
from
boosted
viewership
and
donations
from
the
viral
hype
of
the
preceding
blitz
primary.

Brooks,
who
noted
that
she
is
not
a
political
strategist,
said
that
the
proposal
should
be
treated
as
more
of
a
living
document
and
that
many
of
the
details
of
the
plan
have
changed
as
the
Democrats
who
saw
the
memo
hypothetically
toyed
with
its
ideas.

“We
know
we’re
not
in
any
position
to
define
what
actually
happens,
but
we’re
so
encouraged
by
the
uniform
reaction:
‘Wow!
 If
something
along
these
lines
happened,
America
would
be
lifted
up
from
our
current
doldrums,'”
Dintersmith
said
in
an
email
to
CNBC.

Since
initially
sending
the
proposal
on
Tuesday,
Brooks
said
they
have
received
dozens
of
responses,
most
of
which
liked
the
plan,
even
if
it
has
a
slim
chance
of
actually
being
executed.

“The
tone
has
very
much
been,
‘Oh
my
God,
this
is
probably
impossible,
but
what
a
great
idea,'”
Brooks
said.

She
added
that
the
more
time
that
goes
on,
the
more
she
feels
that
people
are
beginning
to
see
the
plan
as
viable:
“It’s
gone,
in
a
few
days
from,
‘Oh,
this
would
be
so
great
if
only
it
could
happen,
but
it
probably
can’t,’
to
‘Why
can’t
it?'”

In
response
to
a
request
for
comment
on
the
proposal,
the
Biden
campaign
said
that
July
fundraising
had
so
far
been
its
“strongest
grassroots
start
to
a
month
ever.”

The
campaign
also
pointed
to
Biden’s
remarks
in
Wisconsin
on
Friday:
“I’m
not
letting
one
90-minute
debate
wipe
out
three
and
a
half
years
of
work.
I’m
staying
in
the
race,
and
I
will
beat
Donald
Trump.”