New York Times claims replacing Biden is 'right-wing conspiracy theory'

The New York Times headlined "How Biden’s Stumbles Collided With a Right-Wing Conspiracy Theory" on Friday, as reports have come out about many Democrats seeking to remove the incumbent president from the ticket. The Times labeled pre-debate commentary suggesting Biden would not be the nominee as a "far-right" conspiracy that Democrats have been planning to replace Biden.

The Times article was published on Friday morning, around the same time as an Axios article which reported, "Behind the Curtain: Committee to Unelect the President." As these reports have come out, the Biden campaign is also quietly pitting Vice President Kamala Harris against Trump in voter surveys, according to another report from the Times from Thursday. 

The seeming contrast between the Axios and Times article was pointed out by Fox News reporter Joseph Wulfsohn online. "The NYT *this morning* accused the right of pushing a 'conspiracy theory' that Dems are secretly plotting to replace Biden at the top of the ticket… Meanwhile, Axios is reporting *this morning* how Dems are secretly plotting to replace Biden at the top of the ticket. Unreal," he wrote. 

The Times took aim at former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who said in a podcast interview after Biden's debate with Trump, “It was their final opportunity to toss the old man to one side, as I’ve been saying for the entire last year and a half... What they described as a conspiracy theory last year has become a reality today." The outlet's editorial board itself called for Biden to step out of the race and multiple Times opinion writers are mentioned in the Axios report as being part of the campaign to replace Biden before the election. 

At the same time the article about the the claimed "right-wing conspiracy theory," came out, Axios reported that "very-connected Democrats, mostly veterans of the Obama and Clinton administrations, are plotting hourly to get him to withdraw quickly." The outlet reported that the group of Democrats are speaking to pollsters, lobbying former presidents, as well as talking to donors in an attempt to remove Biden from the 2024 race against Trump. 

The Times added in its report, "Far-right social media is rife with outlandish, unproven stories of Democratic crimes and rigged elections. Most of those ideas fizzle over time as they fail to come true. But every now and then, one of those stories collides with reality."