Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) said Saturday that even though Democrats are not falling in line behind President Joe Biden, one thing unites the party: fear of a second Trump administration.
Crockett, who represents parts of Dallas, appeared on MSNBC’s The Katie Phang Show to discuss the president’s one-on-one interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos that aired Friday. Host Katie Phang prefaced her conversation with the congresswoman with clips from the night before that featured a couple of prolonged pauses from Biden.
While five House Democrats have called on Biden to withdraw from the race, Crockett defended him, arguing that voters have spoken through the various Democratic presidential primaries so far this year.
“The ticket at this point in time is Biden and [Vice President Kamala] Harris, and so long as the president says that he can do this job, then that is our ticket,” Crockett said. “We have a democratic process, we went through the primary, and to subvert the will of the people based on polls is not what we do in a democracy.”
The freshman representative suggested that if polling was indicative of election outcomes, Trump “never would have” been president, and “we wouldn’t have Democrats overperforming by 20 points in a number of elections” in the past couple of years.
In addition to denouncing Democratic calls for Biden to step aside, Crockett addressed the motives behind them. She cited the president’s comment last month that there are likely to be two Supreme Court justice vacancies in the next four years and Project 2025, a blueprint spearheaded by The Heritage Foundation for the next conservative administration — two big concerns for Democrats.
“Even though it’s Democrats that are calling for the president to step aside, they’re not calling for the president to step aside because they think that Joe Biden’s a terrible person, because they think that he’s a failure,” Crockett said. “They’re calling for him to step aside because they are scared. One thing that I think we are all united in, no matter where you stand, is our fear: our fear that somehow Donald Trump can get back into the White House.”
Crockett pleaded with Democrats to “unite around the ticket” and “stay the course” with just under four months to go until Election Day.
“Let’s recognize who the real enemy is, let’s not give fodder to the Republicans come November by tearing each other apart,” she said.
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Crockett’s comments come as Biden’s mental acuity has been heavily scrutinized since his weak performance at the first presidential debate. He said he is “completely ruling out” exiting the race, even as some in his party express doubts that he can continue as the nominee or serve another four years as president.
Despite the doubt swirling around Biden, a new poll released Saturday showed him gaining ground against Trump in swing states.
