In 2020, many speculated that Joe Biden was merely a Trojan Horse candidate, chosen for his "electability" to secure a Democratic victory and then, after a period of time, step aside for his running mate to take over. Few really expected that he would last a full term, let alone seek a second. Heck, after his botched withdrawal from Afghanistan, it seemed more likely than ever. But that's not what happened, and you can bet that many Democrats were disappointed when, in April of last year, he put all speculation to rest and announced he was seeking a second term.

While this made for interesting speculation from the right, the left has generally given the impression that they were all in for Joe Biden. Yet, according to Don Peebles, a big Obama donor, the speculation was right. He told  Fox News’ Will Cain that the Democrat donor class expected Biden to only be a one-term president.

Related: Democrats Have a ‘Plan C’ for Their Biden Problem

"The expectation for most of the Democratic fundraising community was the president Biden was going to do one term and move on," he said. "And, and Harris was going to learn to be president. And, and that is why he got support from a broad spectrum of Democratic fundraisers and Democratic leaders." 

"Wow. So there was already a little bit of discontent with the idea that he's going to run again, he's going to move on," Cain responded. "And now we see his actual capability, his his mental capacity. What do you think? You-you raise funds. He—he's pointing to fundraising, by the way—but we also hear stories about donors who are starting to join the chorus along with congressmen, maybe a few senators. Certainly the media who are backing away from Joe Biden. What do you think will be the move here? Do you think Joe Biden can kind of withstand this snowball of opposition within his own party?" 

"Well, he's prepared for it because he entered every Democratic primary and has locked up the delegates," Peebles explained. "So it's his decision and his decision alone. And on his broadcast of the interview with Stephanopoulos [Friday], he indicated it would take God to come down and get him out of the race."

Peebles continued. "So if he continues to have that approach and have that attitude, he will be the Democratic nominee. I do not think most people expected him to run for a second term. And, and now they're panicking." 

“The expectation for most of the Democratic fundraising community was that President Biden was going to do one term and move on...and now they're panicking."

Fmr Obama fundraiser adds that the plan was for Kamala “to learn to be President."

None of that quite went according to… pic.twitter.com/X4jp0ZPeYc

— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) July 6, 2024

Since Biden's disastrous debate with Trump last month, his campaign, the Democratic Party, and the White House have been in a state of chaos. The blame game is being played, donors are putting their checkbooks away, and surrogates willing to go out there and defend Biden are becoming harder to come by. It stands to reason that when this campaign is over, and Trump wins, the left will blame Biden for his defeat by saying he never should have sought a second term in the first place. That presidential legacy that he's been desperately trying to create will be destroyed because he'll be seen as the man who made it possible for Donald Trump to return to the White House.

Democrats were already touting his record as successful and historic—something we can discuss and debunk another time—so had he chosen not to seek a second term, he'd likely be remembered fondly by Democrats who have been deluded into thinking he had a successful presidency. Now, if the election plays out as most are predicting it will, Democrats will turn on Biden and blame him for Trump's return to the White House.