Joe Biden and Barack Obama sparked speculation that they may have made a secret damning judgment on Kamala Harris’ chances of winning the 2024 election.
They had an intense conversation and according to a lip reader, Biden said “She’s not as strong as me” before Obama replied, “That’s true.”
The exchange was captured on video at Ethel Kennedy’s funeral and was decoded by professional lip reader Jeremy Freeman.
He told DailyMail.com that the two men seemed “very supportive” of each other during the conversation.
But there were several sentences that would only add to the intrigue about who exactly the two Democrats were discussing, and whether it was Harris.
It came as influential election forecaster Nate Silver declared that the White House race is now in “pure tossup territory,” with Harris’ previous lead over Donald Trump crumbling. Trump is making a huge leap forward in the gambling markets.
According to the lip reader, Biden told Obama early in the conversation, “She’s not as strong as me.”
Obama responded, “I know…that’s true…we have time.”
US President Joe Biden (L) speaks with former President Barack Obama (R) prior to a memorial service for Ethel Kennedy
Obama then told Biden, “No, that won’t work” — to which Biden responded, “Hmm.”
The former president added, “I think it’s important that we can have some time together, we’ll appreciate it.”
Biden appeared to back his predecessor, saying, “Yes, we’ll get there in time.”
Obama then turned away from the camera and said something else to Biden, to which the president responded, “Uh huh.”
The conversation at the funeral was then interrupted by Bill Clinton, who looked at them and gestured toward the front of the cathedral.
The public funeral marked the first time Obama and Biden have been seen together in public since the president left his re-election campaign and endorsed Harris.
In July, Obama told his Democratic allies that Biden should seriously consider resigning after the president’s disastrous performance in a debate against Donald Trump.
Obama reportedly felt that Biden’s path to victory had been greatly shortened after the debate, but felt the president had to make the decision to give up on himself.
Biden said in his resignation speech: “I have decided that the best path forward is to pass the torch to a new generation. It is the best way to unite our nation.
“I know there was a time and a place for years of experience in public life. There is also a time and a place for new voices, fresh voices, yes, younger voices. And that time and place is now.”
He immediately supported Harris.
However, Biden was reportedly furious at being forced to resign.
US President Joe Biden (L) along with former Presidents Barack Obama (C) and Bill Clinton (R) attend a memorial service for Ethel Kennedy, the widow of Robert F. Kennedy, at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington, DC
“He’s really devastated,” said one person in touch with his inner circle.
The public funeral for the 96-year-old Kennedy matriarch brought together three presidents and included a colorful eulogy from Bill Clinton.
Biden also crossed paths with former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, 84, who delivered her own eulogy.
During her speech, she said it was “perfect” that the three presidents spoke — which Obama smiled at, but Biden seemed to ignore her.
Dailymail.com previously revealed Pelosi’s brutal phone call to Biden telling him to withdraw from the race against Trump in July.
Obama endorsed Kamala Harris after Biden dropped out of the race and campaigned for her last week.
He sparked controversy by accusing black male voters who do not support Harris of sexism and demanding they join Democrats.
Ethel Kennedy was the widow of former U.S. Attorney General and U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1968 while running for the Democratic presidential nomination.
She never remarried and raised her eleven children, enduring a host of other family tragedies along the way.
It included separate plane crashes that killed her parents, brother and cousin, as well as the untimely deaths of several of her children, grandchildren and a great-grandchild.
She and her husband were devastated by the assassination of his brother, President John F. Kennedy, in Dallas in 1963.
Biden, Obama and Clinton sing during the memorial service for Ethel Kennedy on Wednesday
Biden, a fellow Irish Catholic who has leaned on his faith amid his own losses, including the death of his son Beau, said the Democratic family matriarch was there for him in his time of tragedy.
He said her husband had been one of his heroes.
“Ethel was a hero in her own right,” Biden said.
“She was a hothead,” Obama said. “As serious as Ethel was about righting wrongs, she never seemed to take herself too seriously.”
