‘REAL CLEAR POLITICS
Morning Joe’ host Joe Scarborough and MSNBC contributor John Heilemann talk about the growing number of congressional Democrats calling on Biden to exit the presidential race and discuss how that would play out.
JOHN HEILEMANN, MSNBC: As you know, yesterday, there were more calls on this call that Hakeem Jeffries did yesterday. There were four ranking members of Democratic committees on the House side who came out and said that Biden should, on that call, at least they wanted Biden to step aside. A couple more who said they had pretty profound concerns about it.
I think those people are unlike, in reality, I mean, unlike you can say about billionaire donors, that they are billionaire donors and they obviously would like to win, like to see their money that they’re putting into behind Joe Biden. They’d like to see that be for a candidate that they could win. But I do think that Biden’s biggest challenge right now is not even the donor class. It certainly isn’t the media, which we can talk about all day about what the media’s role in all this is.
But I do think that their biggest challenge is his party on Capitol Hill, which Joe Biden clearly cares about. He is essentially playing chicken with members of Congress. And they are in a staring match right now. A lot of people on the Hill would like Biden to step aside. They do not want to come out publicly and say that Biden is essentially saying, if you want me out, you’re going to have to come out and say it.
And I if I had to say what I thought the ultimate dynamic here is going to be is, does there come a day in the course of the next week where the following four people, Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi, Jim Clyburn, Hakeem Jeffries, and either alone or in together, either literally or figuratively go to Joe Biden and say, you’ve lost the party and we don’t see a path forward. We think it’d be best if you stepped aside. If that conversation happens, I think it’d be hard for Joe Biden to go forward. If it doesn’t happen, it’s a whole different kettle of fish.
JOE SCARBOROUGH, ‘MORNING JOE’ HOST: Yeah, I think it’s very unlikely that that’s just think it’s unlikely that’s going to happen. I think it’s unlikely it’s going to happen because you talk again to members of the Democratic base. You talk to members of the Congressional Black Caucus. You talk to a lot of core Democratic voters. You even look for anecdotal evidence. A lot of angry Democrats out there who are asking why these people are trying to substitute their judgment for Joe Biden’s or for the millions of voters who voted for Joe Biden.
So, you know, it could happen. It could happen. But I suspect that these House members and I started to suspect this a couple days ago, Mika, that these House members were probably hearing back in their home districts. What I heard when I was vacationing with my kids… or what they’re yelling at the church in Philadelphia. But when I was with my kids and the window was rolled down and had a couple different people go, hey, Joe, leave Biden alone. And that was that was like in the day or two after the debate. And it’s anecdotal. Everything’s anecdotal.
But I’ve had enough calls from elites over the last couple of weeks who want him out and enough calls from members of the sort of Democratic rank and file. They don’t they’re not ready for him to get out. And they’re they’re wondering they’re wondering why the elites are splitting the party. And I think part of it is they don’t have confidence that Kamala Harris is going to do any better than Joe Biden in Wisconsin and Michigan and in Pennsylvania.