Ex-Obama adviser David Axelrod cautioned supporters of Kamala Harris against casting her as the default replacement to President Biden on the 2024 ticket, warning that she will need to prove to voters that she is capable of earning the nomination.
“I think the focus ofmany leaders in the party isgoing to be singular and it‘sgoing to be how and who candefeat Donald Trump and thatmay well be Kamala Harris,” Axelrod said Sunday. “I think some of hersupporters have done her adisservice because they say,well, she‘s there, she‘shistoric, you can‘t bypass her and soon…
“The real case they shouldbe making is why she‘d be thestrongest candidate. And thereare some really strongarguments to suggest she wouldbe, but she might be stronger if she comes through aprocess that is open, and Inoticed in her own statement,she said she wanted to competeand earn the nomination, and itwould be good for her if thatwas the conclusion that peopledrew,” he added.
US Vice President Kamala Harris has been endorsed by President Biden as the nominee. (Leigh Vogel/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Axelrod made the comment on “CNN Newsroom” after he was asked why former President Obama notably failed to endorse Harris for the Democratic nomination in his statement reacting to news of Biden’s suspended campaign.
Biden endorsed Harris moments after he announced his decision to drop out of the race. She confirmed that she would run for the Democratic nomination in a statement, writing that “I am honored to have the President’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination.”
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Harris has received endorsements from former President Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as well as several Democratic lawmakers. However, many Democrats have issued statements on Biden’s decision without making mention of Harris or endorsing her.
“We will be navigating uncharted waters in the days ahead. But I have extraordinary confidence that the leaders of our party will be able to create a process from which an outstanding nominee emerges,” Obama wrote in his statement.
President Joe Biden signs an executive order with US Vice President Kamala Harris during an event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on Monday, Oct. 30, 2023. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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Democrats believe that the vice president is in the best position to take on former President Trump with just months to the election. Several Democratic operatives told Fox News Digital that Harris was voted for by the same primary voters that chose Biden, and she has already established a campaign and fundraising infrastructure going into the crucial contest.
But Axelrod said that mentality won’t serve her well politically.
“Ithink that people are going totake a hard look at this, tryand open up the process and seeif others step forward,” he said. “Othersmay not, but she would be in astronger position if she cansay, I went through a processand I emerged as the nominee ofthe Democratic Party by dent ofthat process and not just as agesture by the president tohand me he this nomination.”
Then-Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden listens as then-Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., speak at the Carpenters Local Union 1912 in Phoenix, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2020, to kick off a small business bus tour. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
“She may bebattle-scarred, but she‘s alsobattle-tested in a wayothers aren‘t and they shouldbe making that case,” he went on.
Harris, for her part, hailed Biden’s decision as a “selfless and patriotic act,” adding that he is “doing what he has done throughout his life of service: putting the American people and our country above everything else.” His decision to suspend his campaign comes after several weeks of mounting pressure following a poor debate performance last month, which promoted 37 congressional Democrats and those who caucus with them to urge Biden to drop out.
Fox News’ Julia Johnson contributed to this report.
Yael Halon is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to yael.halon@fox.com.
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