Former Obama administration official van jones said Wednesday that Democrats, behind closed doors, are discussing “how” to replace President Biden at the top of the ticket, “not if.”
The CNN commentator said Democrats defending Biden on TV are having “completely different” conversations in private, amid growing concern in the party about Biden’s standing as the presumptive nominee.
“I understand that people want to, you know, defend him and protect him and give him the space and the dignity to make his own choice,” Jones told CNN’s Jim Sciutto on Wednesday, referring to Biden.
“But there’s a big conversation going on right now about how this happens – not if,” he added.
Jones painted a chaotic picture of the Democratic Party as it tries to figure out a way forward in private discussions.
“Behind the scenes, there is panic on a massive scale,” Jones said. “People are distributing legal memos, PDFs circulating on WhatsApp, trying to figure out what the options are? How can you replace Biden? How do you get him to do that in a way that makes him feel respected, like he should be respected?”
Jones suggested that Democrats were operating under the assumption that Vice President Kamala Harris would be next in line for the top spot. Among the questions Democrats are trying to answer, Jones said, is: “Who should be Kamala Harris’s vice president?”
Jones praised Biden as “a great candidate” but said Democrats must be responsible in determining what the best path forward is.
“We have someone who loves this country. We have someone who has given his all – I mean everything, every last drop – for this country, but he may not be able to cross the finish line,” Jones said. “And a mature part has to take this into account. And that’s what’s happening.”
Two House Democrats have already called for Biden to step down, while several others have said they have serious concerns about Biden’s ability to defeat former President Trump. The White House and Biden’s campaign team have maintained that Biden is up to the task of serving four more years as president and dismissed the shaky debate performance as a bad night.
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