David Axelrod, an adviser to former President Barack Obama, was quick to deny any “illusions” about removing Biden as the Democratic nominee before the election.
Axelrod, who has been an outspoken critic of Biden’s reelection campaign, appeared on “Real Time” on Friday and reiterated his concerns about the president’s chances of winning, with host Bill Maher pointing to a recent Politico report that described panic among Democratic Party leaders behind the scenes.
Maher cited Axelrod’s past comments, suggesting that he believes there is a lot of “talent” within the Democratic Party who could “emerge” as a new standard-bearer.
“The debate is June 27th, but we’ve never had a debate before the convention,” Maher said. “If Joe really does screw up, would that be a good time to make a leadership change?”
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“Real Time” host Bill Maher floated the idea of replacing Biden as the Democratic nominee if Biden makes a “catastrophic blunder” in the first presidential debate. (Screenshot/HBO)
“Look, that’s a fantasy you hear a lot,” Axelrod responded. “I like Joe Biden, I’ve worked with him, I’m grateful to have worked with him, I think he’s done a lot of very fine things as president, and history will favor him. It’s not an issue. The question is, should you have run at this age, but he did, and now he’s the Democratic nominee.”
“This isn’t decided by a convention like in 1968. We’ve changed the rules. The voters nominate the candidate. They nominated Joe Biden and he’s not going anywhere,” Axelrod told Maher. “There’s not a generation of elders that are going to go to the White House and say he can’t run. He’s going to run and I’m sure one of the reasons they want the early debates is to draw attention to the fact that this is a choice! Trump vs Biden.”
“So you could take the easy route and say, ‘Well, I’m not going to vote for either’, but one of these people is going to be the president of the United States and people should take note of that and let go of any illusions that there’s going to be another candidate,” he added.
Bill Maher renews push to remove Biden from the running: He’s only debating Trump because he knows he’ll lose
David Axelrod, an adviser to former President Barack Obama, said it was a “fantasy” to think President Biden would fall off the Democratic nomination list. (Screenshot/HBO)
Just days earlier, Maher had again called for Biden to be removed from the Democratic nomination, believing Biden’s sudden desire to debate former President Trump was evidence that he “knew he was going to lose.”
“My view is that Biden knows he’s going to lose and wouldn’t have agreed to it otherwise,” Maher said at the time. “Only losers want to debate.”
“I think the person who has more to prove is Biden,” Maher later told the committee. “Trump is a well-known figure. Everybody knows he’s going to be a terrible person. He’s going to lurk and mope and not follow the rules or anything. But with Biden, we want proof that he’s alive.”
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Maher highlighted a recent Politico report that indicated behind-the-scenes panic among Democrats about President Biden’s reelection prospects. (Michael Reynolds/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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Maher had called for Biden to be removed from the running in February after the release of special counsel Robert Hur’s report, which fuelled questions about the president’s mental state.
Last year, the liberal comedian began referring to the president as “Ruth Bader Biden,” linking the 81-year-old Democrat to the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who did not step down during the Obama administration and was replaced after her death by Judge Amy Coney Barrett, who was appointed by Trump.
