In a moment of existential turmoil for President Joe Biden, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., has stepped in as a staunch ally of the embattled incumbent, using her platform to speak out against the flurry of Democratic voices calling. he will withdraw from the 2024 presidential election.
As former President Donald Trump wrapped up his lengthy speech to accept the GOP presidential nomination Thursday, AOC — as he’s commonly known — took to Instagram Live to speak directly to thousands of followers to make his case against Biden.
He questioned the possibility of replacing Biden at the top of the ticket at this late stage, warning that some Republicans would challenge it legally and saying it could lead to “a presidential election decided by Clarence Thomas and the Supreme Court,” like in 2000.
Ocasio-Cortez has repeatedly stressed that she respects the views of ordinary voters who want to see changes at the top of the ticket and said she does not guarantee that Biden will win if he stays in the race. But he warned that things could get even more chaotic for Democrats if Biden takes the extraordinary step of ending his campaign just weeks before the Democratic convention.
“If you are 10,000% sure that the candidate, or the president, cannot defeat Donald Trump, then do what you think in your good conscience. for great danger,” he said.
In a twist for the leftist Ocasio-Cortez, her comments make her one of the stronger pro-Biden voices in the party today. While more than 10% of congressional Democrats asked Biden to withdraw from the race, some spoke out to criticize the vote and make an affirmative case to keep him in, with party leaders saying they would support the decision.
While supporting the president, Ocasio-Cortez and other prominent progressives, in recent days, have persuaded Biden to implement several priorities in his second term – including expanding Social Security, increasing rent, removing medical debt from credit reports and slapping terms. limitation in the Supreme Court.
Many progressives, including Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., are primarily driven by policy goals and know they have Biden’s ear. If he resigns, it is unclear who will replace him and how the relationship will change.
But others fear a Trump presidency if this ticket remains, and there is no clear consensus on whether Vice President Kamala Harris will be a better or worse prospect, with the election or the administration.
“Right now people are in existential crisis, emergency mode,” a progressive strategist said of the mood in the movement. “S— hit the fan. … There’s this chaos angle on the other side: If there’s a change in the ticket, then what?”
The strategy says part of the reason progressives like Ocasio-Cortez support Biden is the “bird in the arm phenomenon” — there’s a “comfort level” with Biden in the White House.
Ocasio-Cortez’s views are not shared in the Congressional Progressive Caucus. The day after the live broadcast, Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., former chairman of the CPC, called on Biden to resign.
“We have to face the fact that public concern about your age and fitness is jeopardizing what should be a winning campaign,” Pocan said in a joint message with Biden and three other House Democrats. “The perception may be unfair, but he has hardened after last month’s debate and is now irreplaceable. leading our party from the White House.”
During Instagram Live, Ocasio-Cortez said that many of the efforts to push Biden out of the race because of his poor debate performance were from the “donor class” and the “elite” who did not allow for an “easy transition”. for Harris to be nominated, although he does not have an opinion on Harris – or other alternatives.
“If you think there’s a consensus among people who want Joe Biden to leave, they’re going to support Kamala — Vice President Harris — you’re wrong,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “I was in this room. I saw what they said in the conversation. Many people are not only interested in removing the president. They are interested in removing all the tickets.”
He says the effort is supported by wealthy donors: “When I talk to people in the room, I hear, ‘My donor is this, my donor is that.’ This is the input I heard from my colleagues.
“I couldn’t care less what the rich think,” he added.
Progressive strategists also say that Ocasio-Cortez, by accusing donors and elites of wanting to eliminate the entire ticket, may be “pre-butting” the inevitable question if Biden stops on whether the nomination should go to Harris or if there should be an open primary.
His office had no comment beyond extensive comments to followers on the platform. Biden, for his part, has repeatedly and emphatically said he will not stop. He said he would return to the campaign trail next week after self-isolating with a Covid diagnosis.
Lisa Lint-Vander Zouwen, a 46-year-old Grand Rapids resident and mother of two school-aged girls, called herself a “reluctant” Biden supporter. He said he would like to see her removed and replaced by a “strong woman” – but not without competition.
“It would be nice for the three to be some sort of process,” she said. “I don’t know what it will look like, but some come together from the Democrats to discuss who they think will be a strong candidate and why, and not necessarily for Vice President Harris.”
Ocasio-Cortez also reminded followers that Biden has a unique electoral power that other Democrats can’t expect.
“Joe Biden kind of stomps with the old people electorally, which is one of the strongest and most consistent electorates, and it’s actually a hard electorate for the Democrats to win. That’s not the person who is on Twitter,” she said. “You can’t assume that voters are moving to another candidate.”
