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

President Joe Biden on Sunday posted a letter to social media announcing that he would no longer seek reelection and current Vice President Kamala Harris appears poised to take his place at the top of the Democratic party’s ticket.

Biden’s decision came after building pressure from lawmakers, donors, activists and voters within his own party who had concerns about his ability to beat Republican Donald Trump in November’s election. The letter ended weeks of speculation after the 81-year-old’s troubling performance at the June 27 presidential debate.

As The Associated Press noted in its coverage, Democratic lawmakers hailed President Joe Biden’s historic decision not to seek reelection, praising him as “putting his country and his party before himself.” Meanwhile, Republicans called on him to resign from office, saying that if he could not run for another term, or office, then he’s unable to serve as president.

The KIRO Newsradio and KTTH hosts who offered comments about the bombshell political development to MyNorthwest provided varying opinions, but they all looked ahead at what a Harris-led Democratic ticket would look like.

Political bombshell: Biden throws support behind Harris to lead Democrats against Trump

KIRO Newsradio’s Ursula Reutin: Biden ‘couldn’t change the narrative’

In an email to MyNorthwest, Ursula Reutin, one of the hosts of “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM, said Biden made the correct call as he couldn’t get away from that debate performance last month.

“President Joe Biden’s decision to drop out of the race was the right one to make. Since the debate that stunned the world, Biden could not change the narrative. The focus has been on him instead of targeting former President Donald Trump, someone I truly don’t think is fit for another term in office,” Ursula wrote.

She then looked ahead and added that she hopes the party will rally quickly around Vice President Kamala Harris.

“I hope the Democrats quickly rally around (Harris) and that she picks a running mate who will strengthen the ticket by appealing to independent and undecided voters,” Ursula said. “Harris has her work cut out for her but for the first time in a while, I have hope that we might not have to deal with another Trump presidency. That would be a disaster.”

Disaster: KIRO, KTTH hosts roast Biden for CNN debate performance

Dave Ross of ‘Seattle’s Morning News’ notes the impact on the GOP

In his comments to MyNorthwest, Dave Ross, one of the hosts of “Seattle’s Morning News” on KIRO Newsradio, looked ahead a bit and noted that Biden’s decision will make the Republicans need to pivot as well.

“Our favorite New York Times reporter, David Fahrenthold, called it on Seattle’s Morning News about three weeks ago. Well done, David,” Dave said in an email to MyNorthwest. “The next scheduled debate now becomes the debate of the century, and MAGA’s mountain of Joe Biden stumble videos is headed for 1-800-GOT-JUNK.”

KTTH host Jason Rantz: Democrats are in disarray

In his note to MyNorthwest editors after Biden dropped out, Jason Rantz, host of “The Jason Rantz Show” on AM 770 KTTH, wasted no time in attacking Democrats.

“Democrats have the audacity to tell us that democracy is under threat and there may not ever be an election again if Donald Trump wins. And yet, not only did party elders and donors force out the candidate who voters supported to be on the ticket, they’re now anointing Kamala Harris without any input from the voters,” Rantz wrote in an email.

Rantz also called out the Democratic party for their constant attacks on Trump while also failing to demand Biden resign from his position in the White House now.

“Meanwhile, it sounds like no one on the Left is saying that Joe Biden should leave the White House, even though he’s incapable of running a reelection campaign (or stringing together a coherent thought),” Rantz noted. “So how exactly is Trump the threat to democracy? Maybe if they keep fear mongering around Project 2025, which not a single critic has even read, they think we won’t notice.”

The KTTH host concluded his comments by saying the Democrats aren’t in order and this resembles other issues where they have not seen success.

“Democrats are in disarray and the current chaos mirrors what they’ve caused at the border (with Harris as czar), in Afghanistan, and on the streets of liberal-run cities,” Rantz said.

Rantz also authored a piece that was published on MyNorthwest Sunday, saying that “Biden threw Harris under the bus” during a recent interview on BET. He also asked why didn’t Biden initially endorse Harris, noting Biden dropped a pretty significant hint in that interview last week.

BET’s Ed Gordon asked Biden about previous comments the president made. He said he was only going to be a “transitional” president. A second term was not what anyone expected. So what changed?

“The reason I ran … I was gonna be a transitional candidate. And I thought that I’d be able to move from this, just pass it on to someone else. But I didn’t anticipate things getting so, so, so divided,” Biden said. “And quite frankly, I think the only thing age brings is a little bit of wisdom and I think I’ve demonstrated that I know how to get things done for the country.”

The comment by Biden was very clearly a sleight against Harris.

Rantz’s full commentary can be viewed here.

More on the 2024 presidential election

• ‘Bring it on:’ Washington officials react to Biden dropping out of the race
• What happens next: Biden wants to pass the baton to Harris. How that might work
• Trump speech at the RNC: ‘The discord and division in our society must be healed’

Contributing: The Associated Press

Steve Coogan is the lead editor of MyNorthwest. You can read more of his stories here. Follow Steve on X, or email him here.