‘It’s a coup’: Donald Trump, other Republicans react furiously to Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race

Donald Trump and his supporters have accused the Democrats of “cheating” and committing “fraud” after Joe Biden’s withdrawal.

Donald Trump and other members of America’s Republican Party have reacted to Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race by accusing the Democrats of “cheating” and “fraud”.

Mr Biden released a statement on Sunday, US time, announcing the end of his re-election campaign. He endorsed his Vice President, Kamala Harris, to replace him as the Democratic nominee, though there is an opportunity for other candidates to challenge her.

Mr Biden will remain President until his term ends in January.

“While it has been my intention to seek re-election, 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 President for the remainder of my term,” he said.

The 81-year-old’s decision to withdraw came after, and largely because of, his halting performance in a televised debate against Mr Trump on June 27, which reinforced existing concerns about his age and mental acuity.

Joe Biden has bowed out of the presidential race. Picture: Kent Nishimura/AFP

Mr Trump reacted furiously to the news in a series of posts on his social media platform, Truth Social, voicing his frustration at having campaigned for years against someone who is no longer his opponent.

“So, we are forced to spend time and money on fighting Crooked Joe Biden, he polls badly after having a terrible debate, and quits the race. Now we have to start all over again,” the former president wrote, reviving his old nickname for Hillary Clinton.

“Shouldn’t the Republican Party be reimbursed for fraud in that everybody around Joe, including his doctors and the Fake News Media, knew he was not capable of running for, or being, President? Just askin’?”

In another post, he suggested that Mr Biden’s Covid diagnosis last week was faked.

“Does anybody really believe that Crooked Joe had Covid? No, he wanted to get out ever since June 27th, the night of The Debate, where he was completely obliterated,” he said.

“That was the point in time when Joe was revealed for what he is, an incompetent man who should never have been president.”

Mr Trump demanded that the second of two scheduled presidential debates be shifted from ABC News, which is currently slated to host it in September, to Fox News. He referred to the former network’s senior political anchor, George Stephanopoulos, as “Slopadopolus”.

“Crooked Joe Biden was not fit to run for president, and is certainly not fit to serve – and never was! He only attained the position of president by lies,” said Mr Trump.

“All those around him, including his Doctor and the Media, knew that he wasn’t capable of being president, and he wasn’t.

“We will suffer greatly because of his presidency, but we will remedy the damage he has done very quickly.”

Mr Trump gestures to a camera after accepting the Republican nomination last week. Picture: Nick Oxford/AFP

Stephen Miller, a senior political and policy adviser in Mr Trump’s White House during his first term, led a chorus of agreement with his former boss.

“They held a primary! People had ballots, they filled out circles, they went to the voting booths!” Mr Miller told Fox News host Laura Ingraham.

“And as President Trump said, the Republican Party spent tens of millions of dollars running against Joe Biden!

“Now they just woke up one morning and said, ‘Never mind, we’re cancelling the entire primary, we’re getting rid of our candidate, or we’re pretending the election has never even happened, and we’re going to let donors handpick a new nominee.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson, currently the most senior Republican in government, slammed the Democrats for “forcing” their nominee “off the ballot”.

“Having invalidated the votes of more than 14 million Americans who selected Joe Biden to be the Democrat nominee for president, the self-proclaimed ‘party of democracy’ has proven to be exactly the opposite,” he said.

Mr Biden ran virtually unopposed in his party’s primaries earlier this year, winning nearly 90 per cent of the vote in the process.

Kamala Harris. Picture: Ryan Collerd/AFP

“Someone sue the Biden-Harris campaign for a refund and request a preliminary injunction. That campaign should not be allowed to spend a dollar on Kamala’s behalf until this is fully litigated,” said Madison Cawthorn, a former Republican congressman.

“Personally, I am most upset that we will not get to see J.D. Vance rip Kamala apart on the vice presidential debate stage now.

“Out of the pan and into the inferno for her. Trump will have a field day.”

Mr Trump unveiled Mr Vance, a Senator from Ohio, as his pick to be vice president during last week’s Republican convention.

“Undermining democracy should never be condoned. They had an election. They were told he was fine before they voted,” said Richard Grenell, who served as an acting director of national intelligence under Mr Trump.

“The coup is complete,” said Congressman Paul Gosar.

Entrepreneur David Sacks, an outspoken Trump supporter, noted that Mr Biden’s campaign chair had said he wasn’t quitting “just this morning”.

“Then Biden suddenly posts a resignation letter with no address to the country. Wreaks of a coup,” said Mr Sacks.

“One candidate survived an assassination. The other staged a coup. Your choice, America.”

Donald Trump. Picture: Patrick T. Fallon/AFP

Multiple conservative media figures brought up the spectre of “DEI”. The acronym stands for “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion”.

Most often used in organisational settings, like companies, it refers to efforts that promote full participation in the workforce, particularly for historically underrepresented groups. The term has grown in popularity among American conservatives who believe people are being given jobs based on their race or gender, rather than on merit.

“A poetic way to end this year of reckoning with the madness of DEI,” said conservative podcaster Matt Walsh.

“It concludes with the DEI Vice President likely becoming the nominee despite not receiving a single vote.

“Very fitting that the first black female presidential nominee was handed the job and didn’t earn it.”