Hoover Institution senior fellow Victor Davis Hanson said Monday on “The Megyn Kelly Show” that the “kingpins” of the Democratic Party were reluctant to push Vice President Kamala Harris as the next nominee due to her being “inept” and unable to speak unscripted.
Following President Joe Biden’s poor debate performance against former President Donald Trump in late June, top Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and former President Barack Obama, reportedly met with Biden to urge him to end his reelection bid. Hanson told Megyn Kelly on SiriusXM that while party leaders initially hesitated to throw their support behind Harris, they ultimately yielded to the pressure due to the “momentum” of supporters behind her.
“That’s exactly why Nancy Pelosi, Barack Obama and Chuck Schumer had that initial hesitation for three or four days because they really did think when they removed Joe on that sort of palace coup that they were going to have an open convention or at least an open something. Because they had grown up with it, they knew her, and they did not want to just anoint her,” Hanson said.
“Then they found out that within 24 hours that momentum was there, and they were not going to deny a black woman, who was a person in waiting as vice president, that opportunity, so they caved. But they were very wary, and that narrative didn’t come from you, it didn’t come from me, it didn’t come from Republicans or conservatives,” Hanson continued. “That narrative for three and a half years was you cannot get rid of Joe Biden. He will not step down because he has a Spiro Agnew insurance policy called Kamala Harris.”
Hanson continued to note that some Democrats speculated Biden chose Harris as his running mate to prevent anyone from impeaching him or urging him to “step down.” (RELATED: ‘I Don’t Want Her Talking To You’: Dem Pollster Wants Harris To Continue Ducking Press)
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“Even people were speculating on his side, maybe he picked her. It wasn’t so stupid to announce in advance the gender and race of his running mate,” Hanson said. “Maybe it was smart because she was so inept and she was so unable to speak publicly or [in an] impromptu fashion that nobody would ever impeach him no matter — impeach him or 25th Amendment — or ask him to step down.”
“Because the alternative was just like Agnew and Nixon until Agnew got in legal trouble and stepped down. So that was the reputation that she had among the kingpins of the Democratic Party, and they know that, and the media knows that too. Everybody knows it,” Hanson said.
Just four days before Biden’s withdrawal from the race, a report surfaced that Schumer had “forcefully” urged him to end his reelection bid, which was in addition to other separate meetings Biden held with Pelosi and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Reports of Pelosi’s frustration were also mounting, with Biden officials allegedly fearing she might publicly oppose him.
After Biden endorsed the vice president in a second social media post following his withdrawal, Obama notably did not immediately endorse her, instead expressing confidence that Democratic leadership would “create a process from which an outstanding nominee emerges.” However, as momentum has built behind Harris, she has since received endorsements from top leaders, donors and other political figures.
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