Many other right-wing accounts online compared Biden’s resignation to the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021. “For those who still believe January 6th was a coup, remember: you just witnessed a real coup. July 21st,” far-right troll account End Wokeness wrote in a post by X that has been viewed 1.5 million times.
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also joined the conspiracy theories, alleging, without evidence, that the decision to install Vice President Kamala Harris as Biden’s successor was rigged. “Many Americans fear that the same Democratic National Committee elites are once again trying to rig the nomination process to install a deeply unpopular vice president to replace President Biden,” Kennedy wrote on X.
Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican representative from Georgia, went further, claiming that the coup against Biden was orchestrated by the “deep state” – a phrase often used by conspiracy movements such as QAnon.
“There’s a soft civil war going on between the deep state and the power elite,” Greene wrote on X. “The Democrats, IC (intelligence communities), and media activists lied for years about there being nothing wrong with Biden. Then, when they couldn’t hide any longer, they demanded Biden drop out of the race and staged a coup.”
Other conspiracy theories have also emerged, including unfounded claims that Biden was paid to withdraw, that Biden was forced to sign the statement by the “deep state” and that Biden’s withdrawal was part of an effort to cover up who was behind the assassination attempt on President Trump.
On Truth Social, Trump fanned the flames of these conspiracy theories, claiming without evidence that “Biden has never had COVID. He is a threat to democracy!”
Trump has lashed out in more than a half-dozen angry posts on Truth Social about having to restart his campaign against a different opponent, and reports over the past month have suggested that the Trump campaign is entirely focused on beating Biden and likely not prepared to take on Harris or any other Democratic challenger.
Donald Trump Jr. also pushed conspiracy theories surrounding Biden’s withdrawal. “As of this morning Joe Biden was campaigning at the direction of his campaign co-chairs,” he wrote on X on Sunday night, in a post that has been viewed a million times. “What did they bribe or threaten Joe with that he would change his mind in a few hours and pull out?”
Greene also alleged that Biden and his family were bribed to withdraw from the election, saying, “I’m sure the Biden family got the money they asked for for their presidential library, which will be income for the entire family for years to come.”
It’s an accusation echoed by Rep. Claudia Tenney of New York, co-chair of the Congressional Caucus for Election Integrity. “Biden’s withdrawal from the election appears to be the result of an inside deal between the Democratic Party puppet masters and the Biden crime family,” Tenney wrote on X. “Biden and his family have benefited financially from Biden’s various political activities for over 50 years. Watch in the coming months as Hunter and Biden get away with it all. Watch as Jill and Jim continue their fraud.”
