Word on the street is that the only reason President Joe Biden isn’t backing down from the presidential race is because of a grudge held by his wife, Jill. Apparently, Dr. Jill™ is adamantly against Vice President Kamala Harris becoming the next Democrat nominee.

The first lady took umbrage at Harris’s attack against Joe during a presidential debate in June 2019, when Harris told Joe, “I do not believe you are a racist, and I agree with you when you commit yourself to the importance of finding common ground. But … it was hurtful to hear you talk about the reputations of two United States senators who built their reputations and career on segregation of race in this country. And it was not only that, but you also worked with them to oppose busing.”

Harris basically called Joe a racist without outright calling him a racist, and according to the rumor mills, this was the spark that ignited an intense dislike for Kamala. It was alleged later in 2019 that Jill, on a phone call with supporters, talked about that incident and apparently ended it, “With what he cares about, what he fights for, what he’s committed to, you get up there and call him a racist without basis? Go f*** yourself.”

The Daily Mail garnered quotes from several Washington insiders that suggest other motives for Jill pushing her husband to stay in the race:

According to one [source], “It’s not about Kamala and it’s not really about Joe. It’s more about her holding on to her status as First Lady. She doesn’t want to give that up.”

Another voiced the way that Jill is “absolutely unwavering about Joe staying [in the race] but if he is forced out or opts out, she would be fully opposed to Kamala replacing him.”

One insider revealed, “Kamala never runs competent organizations. Every office, every campaign, devolves into toxicity. And Jill is keenly protective of Joe’s legacy.”

Ergo, it’s likely about more than just a grudge. Jill Biden also has her status as first lady (and possibly the one running the show) to think about. They say power corrupts, and it certainly seems to have gone to Jill’s head. She is the first wife of a president to have a fanfare played (à la “Hail to the Chief”) when she enters.

“Democrats have a problem called Jill Biden,” our Nate Jackson recently noted. “The trappings of the presidency will be taken from her cold, dead fingers. ‘Joe isn’t just the right person for the job,’ she hollered after the [Trump/Biden] debate. ‘He’s the only person for the job.’ What a knife in the back of Kamala Harris.”

Jill may not want to hand the reins to Harris, but it’s also possible that Harris may not even want to be the nominee. As National Review’s Jim Geraghty speculates, “If Biden loses to Trump in November, her reputation is intact — she did all she could, but the ticket couldn’t overcome the liabilities of an octogenarian nominee who bombed (at least) the first debate. But if in November, Kamala Harris lost to Trump — after January 6, after Trump’s indictments, after Trump’s convictions — her reputation would be ruined, and she would never be the Democratic nominee again.”

Harris has successfully failed upward throughout her political career, and her being one bad fall away from the presidency has been the long-running joke of President Biden’s term. Perhaps she does see the writing on the wall for this campaign.

Regardless of the reasoning, President Biden, at the urging of his family, is staying in the race. Thus, it seems Harris’s only hope of becoming the nominee is if the sitting president dies in office.