Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) stated that Vice President Kamala Harris is “ready to step up” as the Democratic Party’s 2024 presidential nominee if necessary, citing the “big decision” President Joe Biden needs to make about continuing his candidacy.
Warren had been asked about a video Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) released on Friday, in which she claimed that people who want Biden removed as the 2024 nominee do not want Harris to take his place. In response, Warren insisted that Biden is the nominee for the party, but that Harris would be able to “step up” in the event he chooses to step down.
“Remember, 80 million people voted for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in 2020 knowing that Kamala Harris would be ready to step up if needed,” Warren said on The Weekend on MSNBC. “I’ve known Kamala for nearly 15 years now, back when I was setting up the consumer financial protection bureau and Kamala was attorney general of California. We worked side by side to try to fight back against giant banks that were cheating people. Kamala has led the charge in order to fight back against the Republicans that want a nationwide abortion ban.”
Warren also referenced how Harris was once a prosecutor, noting how she would be a good pick to run against “a convicted felon,” referring to former President Donald Trump, the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential nominee.
“No matter what happens, I will be out there fighting for Democrats,” Warren said. “I believe we’re going to come together, and we’re going to win in November.”
Warren’s suggestion that Harris is ready to step in for Biden comes after several people have formed a new group called “United for Harris.” The group is made up of people who worked for the 2016 presidential campaigns of former secretary of state Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and has been compared to the “Ready for Hillary” group.
“We just want to put it out there that there are folks who are wanting to rally around the vice president, should Joe Biden step aside,” said Matt Ortega, who worked as digital director for communications on Clinton’s campaign. “The idea is to give some people out there who want Harris to be at the top of the ticket a focal point.”
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Discussions about potentially replacing Biden have skyrocketed after the first presidential debate last month, which many argued was a weak performance by the president against Trump. Biden has insisted in several post-debate interviews that it was simply “a bad night” and that he intends to stay in the race.
Not everyone in the Democratic Party is on board with keeping Biden on the ticket, as a growing number of lawmakers are calling him to bow out. Notable names who have recently joined this call include Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), who is running for reelection in a vulnerable Senate seat; Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), who is running in the California Senate race this November; and Sen. Joe Manchin (I-WV) who said he came to the decision with a “heavy heart.”
