Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at a San Antonio event promoting his school voucher proposal. Credit: Michael Karlis

After President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the presidential race, Texas Republicans Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick wasted no time spinning conspiracy theories and lobbing attacks at Vice President Kamala Harris.

Biden endorsed Harris in his Sunday announcement, leading many political analysts to believe she’ll succeed him as the party’s nominee at the Democratic National Convention.

In tweets fired off shortly after the announcement, Abbott insinuated that Biden’s poor performance at the first presidential debate last month was part of a shadowy Democratic party coup to force the incumbent to drop from the race.

“It looks more and more like that very early debate was a set up to force Biden to step aside,” Abbott wrote in his first of several tweets about Biden’s decision. “Today’s announcement may not have happened without that disastrous debate.”

Abbott didn’t stop there, though. The governor then argued that Biden should be forced from the presidency if he’s “unfit” to run for a second term.

“American security is at risk both at home and abroad,” Abbott wrote in a separate tweet. “A change in the oval office is essential — immediately — to ensure the safety of Americans and the security of our country.”

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a former right-wing talk show host, took it a step further, suggesting in a tweet that former President Barrack Obama orchestrated a deep-state conspiracy to seek an illegitimate shot at the Oval Office.

“Obama has been running the White House and will continue ti run it with Michelle [Obama] or Kamala,” Patrick tweeted. “They picked Biden in 2020 so Obama could serve a third term, and now Obama seeks a fourth term.”

There’s been no serious reporting that suggests Obama somehow guided Biden’s term in office. What’s more, the Obama-Biden relationship isn’t as rosy as it may appear, Politico reported in 2020. D.C. insiders described the relationship between the two men as “complicated.”

The Democratic Party will officially choose a nominee to challenge Trump during its national convention in Chicago, scheduled for Aug. 19-22.

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This article appears in Jul 3-9, 2024.

Michael Karlis is a multimedia journalist at the San Antonio Current, whose coverage in print and on social media focuses on local and state politics. He is a graduate of American University in Washington,...