Outgoing DNC Chief Wishes Dems Had Stuck With Biden

Outgoing Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair Jaime Harrison said in an interview with The Associated Press released Friday that Democrats may have been able to beat President Donald Trump in the November election had they not tossed former President Joe Biden from the race.

Harrison lamented the loss to Trump, blaming it on the limited time allotted to former Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’ campaign, the AP reported. Democrats had only a few months to garner support for Harris after several prominent party members pushed for Biden’s withdrawal from the race following a disastrous debated performance against Trump in June.

“Joe Biden gave the State of the Union, people said it was one of the best State of the Unions that we’ve ever seen,” Harrison told the AP. “Then we move forward to the debate, and people were like, that was a horrible debate performance. And then my thought was: ‘Joe Biden secured the nomination. The primary was done, and so, I’m a loyal guy. We’re riding with Biden.’”

When asked directly if he supported Biden getting booted from the race, Harrison told the AP, “That’s my normal default, is that you stick by your people, right, particularly people who have worked hard on behalf of the party.”

“I went into this thinking, OK, you’ve got probably the most successful of my lifetime legislative president who has poured tons of money into making sure that not just Joe Biden and Kamala Harris get elected, but Democrats get elected — not just in the battleground states, but all states who support a lot of resources and his own time fundraising in order to strengthen the state parties,” Harrison continued. “And then when he hits a roadblock, when he hits a bump in the road, do we stick with him, or do we jettison him? That’s the mentality that I had going into this. And my nature is, ‘I’m on the team with you, you’re my quarterback. You got sacked a few times. But you know what? I’m going to block the hell out of the next person that’s coming at you.’ And that is not always the mentality of everybody in my party. And so sometimes, people look on the sidelines, ready to call in the backup.”

Polling following the June debate showed Trump leading Biden by wide margins in all key swing states. Trump proceeded to beat Harris in every swing state in November.

Many Americans began questioning Biden’s mental fitness for office after witnessing the debate, saying the former president appeared dazed and confused. One poll found nearly three-quarters of Americans were concerned about his ability to lead the country afterwards. Biden’s support among black and Hispanic voters diminished compared to his 2020 election victory.

Trump began making gains with minority voters — usually a Democratic stronghold — just before Biden officially announced his withdrawal.

Former President Barack Obama, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer all joined efforts to push out the then-presumptive Democratic nominee, with Pelosi reportedly working behind the scenes to urge the president to drop out, telling him his candidacy was over either way. Pelosi also blamed the former president’s delay in parting from the race as one of the reasons Harris lost.

“The DNC shouldn’t just be a rubber stamp to whatever the campaign wants,” Harrison responded when asked what changes the DNC should make. “You don’t always have a seat at the table, in terms of, you take all of the arrows and the responsibility. People want to give you all the blame, but you don’t have the power to make those decisions, and I really think there needs to be reapportionment of a better, a greater balance.”

Harrison said the biggest issue with Harris’ campaign was the lack of time the party had to put it together.

“Had she had more runway, it would have been probably easier for her and for the campaign,” Harrison told the AP. “We were building a race for Joe Biden.”