Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., took to Instagram live Thursday evening to make a a fervid argument in favor of President Joe Biden staying on top of the Democratic ticket, Business Insider reported.
In a nearly hour-long session, the progressive lawmaker expressed her support for Biden despite the party’s dissonance over his candidacy after the presidential debate in June.
The New York congresswoman warned against forcing Biden to step down, detailing potential legal challenges from Republicans to a hypothetical nominee’s ballot access. "I have not seen a scenario, an alternative scenario, that I feel does not set us up for enormous peril," she said, Mediaite reported. That particular warning comes despite legal experts noting that Democrats do not formally pick a nominee until the convention next month, meaning Biden himself is not on the ballot yet.
Ocasio-Cortez went on to condemn her colleagues who have been leaking information to the press, which she said is weakening Biden’s position. “To me, I think that’s, and I’m sorry — I’m going to say it because it’s after midnight — that’s bullshit,” she said.
She explained her comments weren’t pointed at those who were making public statements with their name on it. “I’m talking about people who are too scared to say what they want to say in public, but somehow not afraid to say what they want to say to a journalist so long as they promise not to use their name," she said. "That’s a bunch of horseshit!”
Addressing the murmurings that Vice President Kamala Harris might be a possible alternative to Biden, Ocasio-Cortez argued that there was no guarantee that the Democratic Party would support her.
“If you think that there is consensus among the people who want Joe Biden to leave that Kamala, that they will support Kamala, Vice President Harris, you would be mistaken,” she said. “A lot of them are not just interested in removing the president. They are interested in removing the whole ticket.”
