Dems had secret ‘death-pool roster’ to prepare for scenario in case Biden died in office, claims new book
WASHINGTON DC: Months after Donald Trump's victory in the 2024 presidential race, a new book, 'Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House', revealed that top Democrats secretly planned for possibilities where Joe Biden might be unable to continue his campaign.
The book states that these contingency strategies were formulated as early as 2023, preparing for situations in which Biden could drop out or, in the most drastic case, die while in office.
New book reveals secret preparations in case Joe Biden doesn’t finish his term
In a shocking revelation, a new book claims that top Democrats were secretly preparing for the possibility that former president Joe Biden might not finish his term or could even die in office, as per DailyMail.
According to 'Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House' by Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes, key party figures, led by Jamal Simmons, the communications director for former vice president Kamala Harris, devised contingency plans for a range of scenarios leading up to the 2024 election.
One such scenario involved the possibility of Biden dying while in office. The book revealed, "They wanted to make sure the party was ready for every possible circumstance if Biden launched his campaign and then stepped aside before the primaries; if he had won a bunch of primaries and then could not continue."
The book read, "If he secured enough delegates for winning the nomination, but dropped out before winning a floor vote at the convention and if he left a vacancy at the top of the ticket after taking the nomination.”
The secret meetings focused on how party rules would address these circumstances and whether they might need to be adjusted if Biden could no longer run. As part of their contingency plans, Democrats even reportedly drew up a “death-pool roster” of judges who could swear in Kamala Harris if Biden died while in office.
According to the book, Simmons did not inform Harris about the “death-pool roster” before leaving her camp in January 2023, "but he advised colleagues that he should be notified immediately if something happened to Biden, because he had worked out an entire communications strategy."
Simmons then left the plans with another Harris aide. One official involved in these secret discussions expressed concern over the reality that Biden, at 81 years old, might not survive the campaign.
As the book suggests, "It shows what we had to do to prepare with the unique circumstances we had, which was an 80-plus-year-old who was running."
Democrats' reluctance to embrace Kamala Harris revealed in new book
Despite his strong desire to secure a second term, supported by his wife Jill Biden, Joe Biden eventually announced that he would not run for reelection. After a devastating debate performance against then-Republican nominee Donald Trump, Biden was persuaded by senior Democrats to step down as his declining mental sharpness became increasingly apparent. As a result, the Democratic Party began to view former vice president Kamala Harris as the only viable alternative.
In their book, 'Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House', Allen and Parnes recounted how one veteran political strategist summed up the mixed feelings of many Democrats, stating, "Well, at least she has a pulse," reflecting the party’s reluctance to fully embrace Harris, despite wanting Biden out of the race.
Even though Biden stepped aside, he still demanded complete loyalty from his then vice president. The book reveals that his requests were focused on protecting his legacy, with a stern warning: “No daylight, kid,” which Biden reportedly said to Harris.
As Biden's staffers stayed loyal to Harris' campaign, a notable incident occurred during a joint appearance preparation with her running mate, Tim Walz. When Harris began listing accomplishments from her time with Biden, Sean Clegg, a Harris advisor distrusted by Biden’s team, intervened.
He reportedly told her, “Wait, wait, wait! Let’s not do this. Let’s not go down memory lane.” The moment, described in the book, shows the deep divides within the campaign as Harris prepared for the race.
