Ross: Biden is out of the presidential race, just as Farenthold predicted. What can he predict next?

I thought weekends were supposed to be for relaxing. I was at Mass when the phone quietly began tickling my leg, and when I finally got to the car and looked at the messages, I found Joe Biden had removed himself from the race.

And immediately, I thought of my favorite New York Times reporter who predicted that very thing three weeks ago after seeing the debate.

‘Disarray’: KIRO, KTTH hosts comment on Biden withdrawal, Harris ascension

“So many of the Democrats’ problems are tied to Joe Biden, specifically to his age,” New York Times investigative reporter David Farenthold said on Seattle’s Morning News July 2 (Farenthold is on with Ross every Tuesday). “And with the things that have happened on his watch, I just feel like there is there’s still a very strong chance that it’s going to be somebody other than Biden.”

And then a week later, on July 9, Farenthold doubled down on the belief that the president will ultimately not pursue a second term with a timeline of how it will play out.

“I think what will happen is Jim Clyburn, the congressman from South Carolina who sort of helped Biden get elected by sort of telling people to consolidate their votes behind him in 2020, I think that he will step in — and he’s already stepping in that direction — and say, ‘look, Biden’s got to go,'” Farenthold told Ross July 9. “And then Biden will go and I think it will happen before the Democratic convention so there’s time to get everybody lined up. I don’t think it will happen at the convention.”

And yet, Biden remained all in. How can you throw out those 14 million primary votes? Then came the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, who suddenly looked so invincible that maybe the Democrats couldn’t run the risk of starting over.

“But if you think that’s true that Trump is a is a shoo-in, it seems like that would be a more of an impetus to try something unusual, rather than just like accept it and say, ‘no, we’re all going down with the ship,'” Farenthold said.

Fahrenthold stood firm that Biden would declare it a career. I still didn’t believe it.

But yesterday, it happened. And it happened before the convention, just as Fahrenthold predicted.  He also predicted something else last week – who might replace Biden.

“I mean, I think Whitmer and Warnock would in particular be very strong,” Farenthold said.

More from Dave Ross: Motive of Trump shooter not important, how he got an AR-15 is

Now of course, Biden is all in for Kamala Harris, and I’ve heard no mention of Raphael Warnock (Senator from Georgia) getting involved. As for Gretchen Whitmer (Governor of Michigan), she has said she will definitely not be running.

But considering Fahrenthold’s record, I’m going to wait and see. I’m also thinking of asking him for a few stock tips.

Listen to “Seattle’s Morning News” with Dave Ross and Colleen O’Brien weekday mornings from 5-9 a.m. on KIRO Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.

More KIRO Newsradio Opinions

• Travis Mayfield: One simple trick to ensure your vote actually counts
• From the audience: Kamala Harris needs to lead next generation of Democrats
• Angela Poe Russell: The lesson we all can learn from President Biden

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