Democratic Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett asserted during a Sunday interview that Democrats’ self-critical nature allows them to run prime candidates — just eight months after the party replaced former President Joe Biden with former Vice President Kamala Harris as its presidential nominee.
Biden dropped out and endorsed Harris July 21 after his disastrous June debate against President Donald Trump, with the former vice president swiftly receiving sufficient support to become the Democratic nominee before officially clinching the nomination on Aug. 2. Crockett contended on “Inside Texas Politics” that although Democrats’ self-criticism causes internal squabbles, it also results in exceptionally “qualified” candidates.
WATCH:
“I think that what you see as a whole when it comes to Democrats is that we are really hard on ourselves, right? Think of us as everyday people who look in the mirror and we see all the imperfections — that is what we do as a party,” Crockett said. “And it’s a blessing and a curse. It’s a blessing in the sense that we put up some of the most qualified people to run for office because we are so critical. It’s also a curse when it’s like, yes, we will fight each other.”
“That’s something that we don’t see out of Republicans. They do not look in the mirror and criticize themselves at all. That is how we ended up with a 34-count convicted felon sitting in the White House — because they failed to critique their own,” she continued. “It does make sure that we get the best of the best when it comes to running on the Democratic ticket, but again, it’s a double-edged sword.”
Voters were concerned about Biden’s mental acuity long before the June debate, while Republicans had repeatedly raised doubts about his fitness during the 2020 campaign after numerous gaffes. Yet Democrats rushed to Biden’s defense, calling him “sharp” and praising his cognitive abilities ahead of the June debate.
Moreover, when Harris ran for president in 2020, she only secured 844 votes in the Democratic primary, securing zero delegates in the process, according to archived election data.
Political analyst Mark Halperin argued during a Nov. 26 podcast that neither Biden nor Harris should have run for president in 2024 due to their respective weaknesses.
“She should know herself as well as I do in terms of knowing her — and I don’t know her all that well. I’ve known her a long time. She’s not good at making difficult choices under pressure,” Halperin said. “That is the job description of president and presidential candidate, and she should have said, ‘This is going to require a lot of very difficult decisions about how to talk about the Biden-Harris record. The biggest vulnerability Joe Biden had, besides his loss of acuity and his age, was our failed record.’”
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact [email protected].
