Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (DN.Y.) lashed out at Democratic “elites” pushing for President Biden to resign, warning that they are also “not interested” in seeing Vice President Harris at the top of the ticket.
His comments came during an Instagram live event following former President Trump’s highly anticipated speech at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where he officially accepted the Republican Party’s nomination for president.
“If you think there is a consensus among people who want Joe Biden out that they will support Vice President Harris, you are mistaken,” Ocasio-Cortez said Thursday. “They won’t be completely honest, but I will be honest with them.”
“I’m in these rooms. I see what they say in conversations,” she continued. “I’m here to say that a large portion of the donor class and a large portion of those elites and a large portion of those people in these rooms that I see who are pushing for President Biden not to be the nominee are also not interested in seeing the vice president being the nominee.”
Ocasio-Cortez has remained one of Biden’s closest allies since a disastrous debate performance last month in which she at times stumbled and sounded hoarse, igniting an infighting within the party. Concerns about his age and mental acuity have led to a growing faction of Democrats calling on the incumbent to withdraw from the race.
“I’m sure a lot of people knew that the president is old. President Biden is very old. Donald Trump is also very old, racist and neo-Nazi,” she argued. “A lot of people don’t like that we have exactly the same confrontation again, which means the debate hasn’t changed much. In fact, not much has changed in terms of people’s perceptions, in terms of where the electorate is and how to enter the debate.”
Nearly 30 Democratic congressmen, including three senators, have now pressured Biden to step aside and “pass the torch” to a different candidate. Since Wednesday, former President Obama, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) have privately raised concerns about his ability to defeat Trump in November and the negative implications of a negative vote. potential loss.
During the Instagram Live event, Ocasio-Cortez also raised logistical concerns about efforts to replace Biden, warning that Republicans plan to launch legal challenges if Democrats choose someone else as their nominee.
“It has been confirmed by the Republican Speaker of the House that Republicans are already preparing legal challenges to any voting changes that may occur,” she said. “The possibility of our elections being decided by the Supreme Court’s decision has skyrocketed.”
According to previous reporting from The Hill, the only state whose filing deadline has already passed is New Mexico. Democrats could still provide states with a candidate other than Biden for the November elections — even though the president has already won about 3,850 pledged delegates, according to The Hill/Decision Desk HQ tracker.
Ocasio-Cortez, a member of “The Squad,” also criticized “elites” who supported Biden in the past and blocked a conversation about his replacement early in the nomination process.
“I’m looking at a clock and I’m looking at a clock and I’m looking at a calendar. And I think, personally, people have wanted to have this conversation for six months, for eight months, for a year. It’s a very different logistics scenario,” she said.
“If you’re an ordinary person who has this opinion, I’m not angry, but this whole class of people who come with this other opinion have now supported the president all along, and a lot of these people are the same people. who closed ranks around anyone who wanted to raise this conversation a year ago,” Ocasio-Cortez added.
The New York Democrat reiterated her previous criticism of members of her party who leaked information to the press in recent weeks about the fight for Biden’s resignation, calling them “bulls—.”
“Many Democrats have been giving little anonymous quotes to the press,” she said. “I’m sorry, I’m going to say because it’s past midnight, that’s bullshit…”
“If you have an opinion, say it in public, but the idea that you’re an elected official and you’re supposed to be responsible for a community, and you’re just going to text some journalists and say, this is what I think . Don’t put my name next to it,” she continued. “What are you here to do? If that’s your opinion, and if that’s what you think is best for the country, put your name on it.”
Ocasio-Cortez also pressured Democrats who gave anonymous quotes to the press about losing the election if Biden remains at the top of the ticket to resign early in the week. She doubled down on those calls during the social media event.
“Leaving, just leaving like that is rubbish that is a fundamental lack of leadership,” she said. “Make money on Wall Street. If that’s what you want, why keep the seat warm? This work is difficult. It takes a lot of effort for you to resign yourself to losing. Why don’t you just hand over the keys sooner and give them to someone who cares?
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
