Congresswoman AOC Warns Against Peril of Pushing Biden Aside

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has become a staunch defender of President Biden.Credit...Kenny Holston/The New York Times

By Nicholas Fandos

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York urged Democrats to reconsider their efforts to replace President Biden as their nominee, warning that members of her party were discounting his electoral strengths and hurtling ahead without a clear succession plan.

In a late-night livestream on Instagram, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez acknowledged that there were good-faith arguments for Mr. Biden to leave the ticket. But she said the ongoing debate was being clouded by wealthy donors to a “disturbing” degree and being distorted by social media, “groupthink” and anonymous leaks by her colleagues to the news media.

“People need to understand the reality and the gravity of what these people are proposing,” she said. “I’m not saying this is all a reason not to do it, but I do think people are talking about this without having two eyes wide open as to what this really means.”

She added bluntly: “I have not seen an alternative scenario that I feel will not set us up for enormous peril.” 

The hourlong monologue, recorded as pressure intensified for Mr. Biden to step aside and as former President Donald J. Trump accepted the Republican nomination, underscored the unlikely role that the 34-year-old congresswoman and her progressive allies have taken in tumult. Once a Biden skeptic, she has emerged in recent years as a staunch defender of the 81-year-old president, even as he struggles to silence concerns about his age.

Ms. Ocasio-Cortez did not directly share her views on Vice President Kamala Harris, or if she believed that Ms. Harris stood a better chance at defeating Mr. Trump.

But she predicted that Democrats would only fracture further over who should replace Mr. Biden if he dropped out.

“If you think that there is consensus among the people who want Joe Biden to leave that they will support Vice President Harris, you would be mistaken,” she said. And she called the idea of an open convention — allowing multiple candidates to compete for the nomination — “crazy.”

Long known for pushing her party leftward on ideological questions, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez rooted her remarks in what she called “brass tacks” concerns. She said she had seen a “lack of thought” by party leaders around how to confront legal challenges associated with replacing the nominee. She vented that her colleagues in Congress were caving to pressure from donors. 

She also made a case directly for Mr. Biden. Ms. Ocasio-Cortez said that other Democrats “underestimate” Mr. Biden’s continued political strength, particularly with labor unions and older Americans. While she did not directly contest polling that showed him behind, she called herself a “polling skeptic” and questioned whether Mr. Biden’s numbers were being temporarily affected by Democrats own infighting.

“Whether you like it or not, Joe Biden kind of stomps with older people electorally,” she said.

Nicholas Fandos is a Times reporter covering New York politics and government. More about Nicholas Fandos