Claims from the Murdoch media that Joe Biden will drop out of the 2024 US election race and be replaced by Michelle Obama are closer to fan fiction than reality.

Gossip maven Cindy Adams, aged 93, claimed in her regular New York Post column that Biden will announce he’s not running because of health concerns and be replaced by Michelle Obama.

“Around May, Biden announces he’s not running (even mentally). The so-called plot is that come the August convention, Michelle gets nominated,” Adams wrote.

“Next step, Hunter’s father — the temp — drops out just before that convention. For now, he still play-acts like he’s a real candidate.”

Fox News, Sky News and news.com.au, also owned by the Murdoch family, quickly latched onto the column’s claims. However:

• Michelle Obama has denied any intention of entering politics, and Biden will almost definitely be the Democratic party’s nominee
• The bizarre column rehashes several common attacks on Biden, including his age, mental ability and his son Hunter’s legal troubles.

If Biden did drop out:

• His natural successor would be the Vice-President Kamala Harris
• A former attorney-general of California and US Senator, Harris was one of Biden’s rivals during the 2020 Democratic primary
• Harris became the first woman, African-American and Indian-American Vice-President of the United States and has been a stalwart supporter of Biden.

Experts say:

Dr David Smith, senior lecturer in American politics at the University of Sydney, said the likely Biden vs Trump match-up will be “a battle between two historically unpopular candidates”.

“People who saw Trump as a breath of fresh air in 2016 have gotten sick of him now and don’t want another four years,” he said.

“He was polling so well between October and December last year because of so much of the focus on Biden during that period.”

Tweet from @BidenHQ

Race for the White House:

• American conservatives have continually attacked President Biden for his many slip-ups as a sign of declining mental ability, but Biden is — in his own words — a “gaffe machine”
• If Biden wins he will be 82 by the time his second term starts, but Trump is only four years younger and has his own issues convincing the American public he is sound of mind.

Under siege:

Biden’s campaign and Nikki Haley, the last remaining alternative to Trump in the Republican primary, are now turning the tables on Trump and attacking his mental acumen after he mistook Haley for Nancy Pelosi.

Trump also said writer E. Jean Carroll — who just won a $125 million verdict against Trump in a defamation lawsuit after he allegedly raped her — was running for office.

Before the general election in November, the Supreme Court is set to rule on whether Trump is eligible to be on the ballot after attempting to stop the certification of the 2020 election.