Van Jones Claims Democrats Are Now Debating on How to Replace Joe Biden: “It’s Full-Scale Panic”

Joe Biden's disastrous performance against Donald Trump on Thursday has ignited highly publicized debates about whether he ought to retire to make way for a different contender. According to Van Jones, a former Obama aide, Democrats are now trying to have President Biden removed from his position as party presidential nominee for 2024. 

On Wednesday, Jones spoke with Jim Sciutto of CNN, "I understand people want to, you know, defend him and protect him and give him the space and the dignity to make his own choice. But there is a big conversation happening right now about how this happens – not whether." Jones noted that this situation is similar to that of the previous president Trump, whose surrogates would publicly support him but act differently behind the scenes. As reported by The Hill, he stated, "Behind the scenes, it’s full-scale panic."

Jones further added, "People are passing around legal memos, PDFs are flying back and forth on WhatsApp, trying to figure out, what are the options? How can you replace Biden? How do you get him to do it in a way where he feels respected, as he should be respected?" Jones hinted that Kamala Harris, the party's vice president, will be the candidate, and talk has turned to who she might run with as her running partner. Jones claimed, "Who should Kamala Harris’s vice president be? The conversations on air and the conversations off-air are completely different. We have a great candidate, we have a beautiful man, we have someone who loves this country. We have someone who has given his all – I mean, his all, to the last drop – for this country, but he may not be able to get across the finish line. And a mature party has to take that into account and that is what’s happening."

James Carville, one of many Democratic strategists, advised dozens of big Democratic contributors on Tuesday on how to attempt to remove Biden off the ticket during a conference call. As reported by Semafor, Carville said on a conference call for dozens of donors to the Democratic SuperPAC American Bridge, "Seventy-two percent of people want something different. Why not give it to them? They’re just asking for a different choice." Carville said that anyone who supports Biden should be politically isolated. He added, "What I would say is, if we don’t do something about this, I’m going to put you on call block on my cell phone."

He painted the early debate—which took place four months before the election—in a good light. He added, "Maybe we look back on this thing and say, ‘This is the best thing that ever happened to us’. If this would have happened to us on October fifth, we’d be more than bruised, screwed, and tattooed. Maybe this will set it into motion something different."

The latest national survey comes after President Biden's widely panned debate performance last week, and it shows that former President Trump has a growing edge over Biden in their 2024 rematch. Among likely voters worldwide, Trump now has a three-point lead over Biden, according to a survey by The New York Times and Siena College. This is a change of three points from the last poll by The New York Times and Siena College, which was conducted only one week ago.