Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., was pressed by NBC News host Kristen Welker on whether former President Joe Biden should have dropped out sooner or run for re-election at all, dodging the question and insisting that he was focused on what’s in front of him.
Welker quoted former Harris campaign aide David Plouffe, who told authors Alex Thompson and Jake Tapper in their new book that if the former president dropped out in 2023, the Democratic Party could hold a “robust primary.” Welker noted that Plouffe name-dropped Warnock as a potential candidate and asked him to respond.
“Kristen, here’s what we absolutely know about last year’s election. It’s over, and I’m going to spend all of my energy focused on the tank in front of us. We are headed into a very critical week. The Republicans are trying to push forward this big, ugly bill that’s going to literally cut as many as 7 million Americans off of their health care,” Warnock said, referring to Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.”
Plouffe told the authors that Biden “f—– us,” and said “it was a disservice to the country and to the party for his family and advisers to allow him to run again.”
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Welker pushed back on Warnock, noting that he didn’t give a “direct answer” to her question.
“Well, I take very seriously, my job. The people of Georgia hired me to stand up for them, and this really is a critical week. This big, ugly bill is going to strip people of their health care. It’s going to rob working-class people of the resources that they need, they’re literally trying to take health care from children,” Warnock responded.
Several Democrats have been asked to respond to questions about the former president’s health and whether he should have run for re-election or had dropped out sooner.
Democratic leadership, including Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said they’re trying to look forward and move on.
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“Kasie, we’re looking forward. We have the largest Medicaid cut in front of us. We have the whole federal government,” Schumer told CNN’s Kasie Hunt during. He used the same phrase on MSNBC and during the press conference.
Jeffries issued a similar response during a press conference in May, telling reporters, “We’re not looking backward, we’re looking forward at this particular moment in time.”
Some Democrats, including former transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg, acknowledged the former president might have harmed the party’s chances by remaining in the race for as long as he did.
Buttigieg said that Biden “maybe” hurt Democrats in running for re-election. However, he defended the former president against allegations of decline.
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