Former White House chief of staff Ron Klain told CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Wednesday that it’s “disappointing” that President Joe Biden has dropped out of the presidential race.
He blamed Biden’s decision on public calls from donors and elected officials, and noted that the current president won the nomination “fair and square.”
“When the president withdrew, you publicly criticized — I think you tweeted — the so-called donors and selectmen, saying they ‘threw’ him out,” CNN host Anderson Cooper said. “They threw Biden out of the campaign. Is that really what happened? I mean, there was certainly a lot of disappointment among Democrats after that debate, right? And certainly, in the latest poll we talked about at the beginning of the show about enthusiasm, it was like 85% or something now, compared to 46% in June.”
“Well, I’ve read that there’s a lot of enthusiasm,” Klain responded. “There’s a lot of people rallying around the vice president, and I’m very happy to see that. It’s hard-earned and well-deserved for her. But I think the president was pushed by calls from elected officials and donors to step aside, and I think that was wrong. And ultimately, I think the president made the right decision to say that if I were to step aside, the vice president should take over.”
“But why was it wrong for them to do that?” Cooper interjected. “Why was it wrong for donors to challenge other elected officials?”
“I don’t think that’s wrong or immoral, but I think it’s unfortunate because I think the president won the nomination fair and square,” Klain responded. “Fourteen million people voted for him and his vice president as vice president. But that’s all in the past, Anderson. He’s decided to pull out. He’s decided to support his vice president, and her campaign is going well. We have a better chance than ever before of beating Donald Trump this fall and electing an experienced, talented, intelligent president to lead our country for the next four years.”
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