Democratic megadonor Ari Emanuel blasted President Joe Biden for the "pickle" he's put the party in, asserting that he and his campaign have fed us a "bunch of malarkey" about his health heading into November.
Ari Emanuel, whose brother, Rahm Emanuel, is the former Chicago mayor and Biden's ambassador to Japan, made the comments last week, the morning after the first presidential debate between Biden and Republican presumptive nominee Donald Trump.
The debate appeared to many observers to put all of Biden's mental shortcomings on full display, despite assertions from the White House and the president's campaign that he's sharp as a tack.
Ari Emanuel, speaking at the Aspen Ideas Festival, panned Biden over his one-term promise, his health, and for not stepping aside despite a "great bench in the Democratic Party."
"He said he was going to run for one term, and he's doing it to restore democracy. He now runs for a second term — first bit of malarkey, as he would say."
"His cohorts have told us that he's healthy for over a year," Ari Emanuel said.
"We're in a ... this is a pickle," he added, noting that removing the president as the Democrats' candidate is a legal issue.
He added that big donors he's talked to are pulling out from Biden and spending their money downballot in congressional races.
"The lifeblood to a campaign in politics, the lifeblood is money. And maybe the only way this gets [solved] — with smart lawyers looking at it — is if the money starts drying up,” Ari Emanuel said.
"But if this is, as Biden says, the fight for our democracy ... man, he gave us a bunch of malarky, and I'm really p****d," he said.
"I cannot believe we're in this situation."
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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