Claim: Hillary Clinton will replace Joe Biden as the Democrat’s nominee in the US presidential election 2024.
Fact: According to the latest developments and credible news reports, it is highly unlikely that Clinton will replace Joe Biden. Clinton herself has endorsed Kamala Harris, the current US vice president, as the Democrat nominee for the upcoming US presidential elections after Biden stepped down from the race on 21 July.
On 21 July, X user @RealAlexJones claimed (archived): “Breaking! Hillary Clinton to replace Joe Biden as democrat nominee at DNC convention!” predicting the likelihood that Clinton would be the Democrat candidate even though Biden had not announced he was stepping aside at the time the user posted the claim. The announcement by Biden came a few hours later.
In the video attached to the post, Jones, the far-right conspiracy theorist, spoke about how the “deep state” was conspiring to bring Clinton into the presidential race.
Though, after Biden endorsed Harris, Jones claimed (archived) that “Deep State Will Try To Replace Kamala Harris With Hillary Clinton At DNC,” he did not delete or retract his previous statement.
Various fact-check platforms have debunked claims and conspiracy theories by Jones in the past. In 2020, he falsely claimed that doctors were killing former President Donald Trump at Walter Reed Military Hospital. He also made wild speculations during the height of Covid about vaccines not being effective against the virus, which were debunked by PolitiFact.
Fact or Fiction?
Early on Sunday, Joe Biden announced he was stepping aside from the presidential race. “It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President. And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as a President for the remainder of my term,” he said on X.
One X post later, he endorsed Harris as the nominee for the Democrat’s presidential nomination. “Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump.”
“I am honored to have the President’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination,” Harris posted on X after Biden’s announcement.
Now that Biden has dropped out, Harris is the top choice running for the presidential nomination. Soch Fact Check found that the Clintons have endorsed Harris, ruling out the possibility the former 2016 presidential candidate is seeking nomination again. “We are honored to join the President [Biden] in endorsing Vice President Harris and will do whatever we can to support her.”
Through her personal account, Hillary Clinton posted: “I’ve known Kamala Harris a long time. This brilliant prosecutor will make the case against convicted felon Donald Trump and the Project 2025 agenda to take away our freedoms. But she can’t do it alone. Become a part of this historic campaign today.”
Moreover, in 2022, Clinton said she will not be running for president again, as reported by The Hill.
Harris has received more than 1,976 Democratic delegates’ endorsements needed to win her a nomination ticket at the Democratic National Convention (DNC), according to The Associated Press survey. The DNC will be held from 19 August to 22 August in Chicago. The former house speaker Nancy Pelosi, the Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, California Governor Gavin Newsom, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are among the top endorsements Harris has received.
While Harris remains the top candidate, it’s still possible that delegates can vote for another candidate at the DNC or they can select a candidate through an early virtual call beforehand.
However, according to Ballotpedia she remains the noteworthy candidate alongside Marianne Williamson, who is also a Democrat.
Soch Fact Check analysed news reports to see if Clinton is a possible choice if Democratic delegates do not nominate Harris for the presidential election at the DNC.
If Democratic delegates at the DNC do not nominate her, then Gretchen Whitmer, the Michigan Governor; Josh Shapiro, the Pennsylvania governor; Gavin Newsom, the California governor, are likely contenders among others. Hillary Clinton is not among the potential candidates, according to most political analysts.
Moreover, candidates who have filed their nomination with the Federal Election Commission does not include Hillary Clinton for the 2024 presidential election, according to the FEC website, which shows Clinton’s name for the 2016 presidential election, further confirming she is not the potential candidate replacing Biden.
Soch Fact Check therefore concludes Clinton is not replacing Biden in the presidential election 2024.
Virality
The X post garnered 11.5 million views.
Conclusion: Hillary Clinton is not replacing Joe Biden in the presidential election. She has endorsed Kamala Harris in her bid to run for the presidential election.
Background image in cover photo: The New York Times
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