Former White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Sunday that replacing President Biden at the Democratic National Convention carries huge risks and could sow divisions within the party.
her MSNBC show “Inside with Jen Psaki” “Those hoping that Joe Biden will leave office and a brokered convention will take place should know that it will not be an easy road,” she said.
“First of all, it would be a major blow to the Democratic Party if the president remained neutral and did not support his own vice president,” Psaki said. “It would also mean that a few thousand voters within the party would have the power to choose the nominee, rather than the millions of Democratic primary voters who have already cast their ballots.”
Biden’s lackluster performance in last week’s debate raised alarm bells among some in the Democratic Party about whether he can defeat former President Trump in November and lead the country for another four years.
Following Biden’s disastrous debate defeat, some Democrats have called on him to resign, but national officials have not yet publicly joined those calls.
Biden has already won the primary and cannot be dethroned at the convention, so the final decision will be up to him.
Psaki argued that if he were to withdraw, “a talented candidate, but one who may have little track record and little name recognition” could be asked to gain national attention and rally enough support to defeat Trump within two months.
“That could be very messy and very divisive,” Psaki said, “but at this point, it’s still very unlikely, given that First Lady Jill Biden, Democratic leaders in Congress and former President Obama have all endorsed Biden.”
White House and Biden campaign officials have sought in recent days to dismiss the notion that the president would step aside or withdraw from the race, with Biden’s campaign ridiculing “bedwetters” in an email sent Saturday night and suggesting the president should step aside.
As of now, Biden, who won 99 percent of the party’s delegates in the primary election, is the only candidate on which Democratic National Convention attendees can vote.
Under Democratic National Committee (DNC) rules, delegates won by Biden must pledge to support his nomination unless he withdraws. The DNC could change its rules to block Biden before the convention begins on August 19, but that seems highly unlikely given the party’s current dynamics.
Possible candidates to succeed him include Vice President Harris, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and California Governor Gavin Newsom.
