In a moment of existential turmoil for President Joe Biden, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., has stepped up as a staunch ally of the embattled establishment, using her platform to speak out against him storm of democratic voices where is calling on him to retire from the 2024 presidential race.
As former President Donald Trump wrapped up his lengthy speech accepting the GOP presidential nomination Thursday, the AOC — as it’s popularly known — took to Instagram Live to speak directly to thousands of followers in support of Biden’s withdrawal.
He questioned the viability of replacing Biden at the top of the ticket at this late stage, warning that some Republicans would challenge it legally and saying that doing so could lead to “presidential decisions by Clarence Thomas and the Supreme Court,” as in 2000.
Ocasio-Cortez has repeatedly emphasized that she respects the opinion of ordinary voters who want to see a change at the top of the ticket, and said she did not guarantee that Biden would win if he remained in the race. But he warned that things could get more chaotic for Democrats if Biden did makes the brilliant move to end his campaign a few weeks before the Democratic convention.
“If you’re 10,000 percent convinced that the candidate or the president can’t beat Donald Trump, then do whatever you think is in your right mind. But I haven’t seen an alternative scenario that I don’t think sets us up for enormous risk “, he said.
In a turnaround for left-leaning Ocasio-Cortez, her comments make her one of the strongest pro-Biden voices in the party right now. While more than 10% of congressional Democrats have called for Biden to drop out of the race, few have spoken out to criticize those voices and support his stay, with party leadership saying they will support whatever decision he makes.
While backing the president, Ocasio-Cortez and other prominent progressives have in recent days persuaded Biden to embrace many of their priorities in a potential second term — including expanding Social Security, limiting rent increases, eliminating of medical debt from credit reports and slapping term limits on the Supreme Court.
Many progressives, including Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., are driven primarily by policy goals and know they have Biden’s ear. If he resigns, it is unclear who would replace him and how that relationship would change.
But others fear a Trump presidency if that ticket remains, and there is no clear consensus on whether Vice President Kamala Harris would be a better or worse prospect, electorally or governing.
“Right now people are in an existential crisis, a state of emergency,” one progressive strategist said of the mood within the movement. “S—‘s hitting the fan… There’s this chaos angle on the other side of it: If there’s change on the ticket, then what?”
The general said part of the reason progressives like Ocasio-Cortez are backing Biden is the “bird in the arm effect” — there’s a “comfort level” with Biden in the White House.
Ocasio-Cortez’s view is not shared across the Congressional Progressive Caucus. The day after her live stream, Rep. Mark Pocan, a former co-chair of the CPC, called on Biden to step down.
“We have to face the reality that widespread public concerns about your age and fitness are jeopardizing what should be a winning campaign,” Pocan said in a joint message to Biden with three other House Democrats. “These perceptions may not be fair, but they have hardened in the wake of last month’s debate and are now unlikely to change. We believe the most responsible and patriotic thing you can do right now is to withdraw as our candidate while you continue lead our party from the White House.”
During Instagram Live, Ocasio-Cortez said much of the effort to push Biden out of the race after his poor debate performance comes from “the donor class” and “elites” who would not allow “a easy transition”. to make Harris the nominee, though he did not rule on Harris — or any other alternative.
“If you think there’s a consensus among the people who want Joe Biden gone that they’re going to support Kamala — Vice President Harris — you’re wrong,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “I’m in those rooms. I see what they’re saying in the conversations. A lot of them aren’t just interested in removing the president. They’re interested in removing the entire ticket.”
He said the effort is fueled by wealthy donors: “When I talk to people in the rooms, I hear, ‘My donor this, my donor that.’ These are the elements I hear echoed by my colleagues.
“I could give two hoots about what a bunch of rich people are thinking,” he added.
The progressive strategist also said that Ocasio-Cortez, accusing donors and elites of wanting to dump the entire ticket, may be “favoring” the inevitable questions if Biden quits about whether the nomination should go to Harris or if there should be an open primary.
Her office had no further comment beyond her extensive statements to her followers on the platform. Biden, for his part, has repeatedly and emphatically said that he will not abandon his studies. He said he will 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-age daughters, called herself a “reluctant” Biden supporter. She said she would like to see him step aside and be replaced by a “strong woman” — but not without competition.
“It would be nice for three to be kind of a process,” he said. “I don’t know what that would look like, but some people who came together from the Democrats to discuss who they think would be a strong candidate and why, and not necessarily take down Vice President Harris.”
Ocasio-Cortez also warned supporters that Biden has unique electoral advantages that other Democrats can’t expect to replicate.
“Joe Biden is electorally hitting seniors, which is one of the strongest and most consistent constituencies, and it’s actually hard to win over Democratic voters. These are not people who are on Twitter,” he said. “You can’t assume the electorate is shifting to any other candidate.”
