Democrats thrown into chaos as they face tight deadline to replace Biden

Sen. Joe Manchin said he would not run as Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Sen. Joe Manchin, I-W.V., said he would not run as Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate in 2024, amid reports he is considering launching his own bid for the presidency.

Manchin applauded President Joe Biden's "legacy" during an appearance on CNN Monday, just one day after the president withdrew his candidacy for the 2024 election.

The senator then shut down the idea of running on a Democratic ticket with Harris, who is already being backed by a majority of Democrats to run on the top of the ticket in place of Biden.

“No," Manchin said when asked if he would run alongside Harris in 2024. “It’s a new generation, you don’t want a 76-year-old vice president right now."

Asked if he believes voters would want a "76-year-old president," amid reports that Manchin is considering launching a bid for the Democratic nomination, the Senator said "well, if he feels like he's 50 maybe."

Manchin is reportedly considering re-registering with the Democratic Party and running for president in 2024 "even just to have the discussion of bringing the party back to center," Fox News confirmed Sunday.

Andy Beshear

Gov. Andy Beshear, D-Ky., endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to be the Democratic nominee for president on Monday, and did not turn down the idea of being her running mate.

"I'm excited to fully endorse Vice President Harris as the next president of the United States," he said on MSNBC's Morning Joe. "The vice president is smart and strong, which will make her a good president. But she's also kind and has empathy, which can make her a great president."

The Kentucky governor had been speculated as a potential Democrat in the running to replace President Biden on the ticket after he announced the suspension of his re-election campaign on Sunday.

However, Beshear put the discussion to rest by throwing his support behind Harris' bid.

Asked if he would be open to being Harris' running mate, he said, "The the only way I would consider something other than this current job is if I believed I could further help my people and to help this country."

When the governor was asked more specifically if he would consider the role, he said, "I think if somebody calls you on that, what you do is at least listen."

The second-highest ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to be the party's 2024 presidential nominee on Monday.

"I proudly and enthusiastically endorse Kamala Harris for President of the United States," Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass, said in a statement.

"Harris is a champion for working families and reproductive freedom. She stood up to corporate greed and lowered prescription drug costs for seniors. She expanded the Child Tax Credit and cut child poverty in half," Clark said.

Clark then went on to contrast Harris with former President Trump, saying the Republican nominee is a threat to "our core principles of democracy and justice for all."

The top Democrat in the House, Speaker Hakeem Jeffries, has yet to endorse Harris. Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and former President Barack Obama have also remained silent.

President Biden hesitated to drop out of the race because he was concerned that Vice President Kamala Harris could not defeat former President Donald Trump, Axios reported Monday.

While Biden endorsed Harris immediately upon announcing his withdrawal, many top Democrats have shown they remain skeptical of her chances. Biden, the Clintons and a wave of Democratic lawmakers fell in line behind Harris, but former President Barack Obama, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Speaker Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer have all remained silent on who Biden's successor should be.

Top candidates--aside from Harris--are California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and a handful of others.

The Democratic Party faces an August 7 deadline for selecting a new nominee.

Harris has faced high levels of scrutiny and criticism during her time as vice president, with a reports of a hostile work environment contributing to high staff turnover.

President Biden was outraged at the leaks and betrayals by his own party but ultimately "surrendered to reality," a close friend of his told Axios on Monday.

"It was fury for a while. Then he surrendered to reality. He's a professional," the friend said.

 "No one was able to produce data points that showed him winning," another Democratic insider told the outlet. "They tried everything. There was no path."

Biden made the decision to drop out while he was isolating with COVID-19 at his Rehoboth, Delaware beach home. With him were top political strategist Mike Donilon, counselor Steve Ricchetti, White House deputy chief of staff Annie Tomasini and Anthony Bernal, senior adviser to the first lady, according to Axios.

While Biden initially rejected calls to resign, unrest within the Democratic Party mounted over the course of weeks. Extensive leaks from within the party also undermined Biden's leadership with rumors of unease and panic.

Trump 2024 national press secretary Karoline Leavitt joined 'Fox & Friends First' on Monday to discuss why Biden's decision has prompted U.S. politics to enter 'unchartered territory' and why many critics are calling on him to step down immediately.

Leavitt argued that campaign members "feel better about our chances" facing Vice President Kamala Harris rather than President Biden.

Harris' ascension to the Democratic Party's nomination is not set in stone, however. While Biden, the Clintons and other top Democrats have endorsed her, notably top names have also chosen not to.

President Obama, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Speaker Hakeem Jeffries have all remained silent on who should succeed Biden in the 2024 race.

Trump himself argued Monday morning that Democrats had "stolen" the nomination from Biden after an extensive primary process.

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 of many leaders in the party is going to be singular and it‘s going to be how and who can defeat Donald Trump and that may well be Kamala Harris," Axelrod said Sunday. "I think some of her supporters have done her a disservice because they say, well, she‘s there, she‘s historic, you can‘t bypass her and so on…

"The real case they should be making is why she‘d be the strongest candidate. And there are some really strong arguments to suggest she would be, but she might be stronger if she comes through a process that is open, and I noticed in her own statement, she said she wanted to compete and earn the nomination, and it would be good for her if that was the conclusion that people drew," he added.

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."

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.

Vice President Harris’ presidential campaign has raised nearly $50 million in grassroots donations since President Biden suspended his re-election bid and endorsed her, Fox News Digital has learned. 

"Since the President endorsed Vice President Harris yesterday afternoon, everyday Americans have given $49.6 million in grassroots donations to her campaign," the Harris campaign told Fox News Digital. 

The campaign told Fox News Digital that the figure represents grassroots donations raised across "all entities, including ActBlue." 

Harris announced her presidential campaign Sunday afternoon just after Biden announced he would drop out of the 2024 race, amid pressure from within the Democratic Party. 

The unprecedented announcement came as an increasing number of Democrat lawmakers had begun to publicly call for Biden to step aside and the party's leadership reportedly was engaged in efforts to convince Biden, 81, he could not win in November's general election against former President Trump, the 2024 GOP nominee who Biden defeated four years ago to win the White House.

Biden quickly offered his "full support and endorsement" for Harris to take over as the party's presidential nominee.

"It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your president," Biden wrote in a public letter. "While it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interests of my party and the country for me to stand down and focus solely on fulfilling my duties as president for the remainder of my term."

Biden said he will formally address the nation later this week about his decision. 

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Brooke Singman

Former President Trump argued that the Democratic Party "stole the race" from President Biden after the current president decided to drop out of the race Monday.

"The Democrats pick a candidate, Crooked Joe Biden, he loses the Debate badly, then panics, and makes mistake after mistake, is told he can’t win, and decide they will pick another candidate, probably Harris. They stole the race from Biden after he won it in the primaries — A First! These people are the real THREAT TO DEMOCRACY!" Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Biden officially bowed out of the race on Sunday following weeks of sustained pressure by Democrats who argued he was too old to serve effectively as president. Biden quickly endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, and she has since enjoyed a wave of endorsements and fundraising from top Democrats and Hollywood celebrities.

The Democratic Party has until August 7 to formally nominate a replacement for Biden.

The person most responsible for Biden stepping aside is Nancy Pelosi, who warned the president in private, then had allies such as Adam Schiff go public, then used leaks to the press to make Biden’s position untenable.

The former speaker has not endorsed Harris. Neither has Barack Obama, who let it be known he thought his former VP would lose and said yesterday there should be a process for deciding the nomination.

Fox News' Howard Kurtz contributed to this report

Former ESPN broadcaster Sage Steele tore into President Biden’s decision to withdraw from his re-election campaign more than three weeks after a disastrous debate with former President Trump.

Steele expressed her concerns about the United States and took a shot at the president’s family for allowing him to stay in the race.

Biden announced earlier Sunday he was ending his re-election campaign and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the potential Democratic nominee. Statements from first lady Jill Biden and the president’s children followed after the announcement was made.

However, Steele was unhappy it had gotten this far.

"I think what we should be is disappointed and angry because it should never have gotten to this point in the first place," Steele said in a video posted to X. "And I don’t even mean since that debacle of a debate on June 27th when the mainstream media just magically decided to admit, ‘Wait, maybe he has some cognitive issues. Maybe he’s not fit to run for reelection. They were lying from top to bottom for years and covering up for him sadly.

"We should be so disappointed in his family, in his wife. How, as a spouse, could you allow your husband or wife to go ahead and proceed with something so big (and) so important when you know that as a human being, they are not OK? That, to me, is disgusting. That’s what I’ve been saying since I interviewed Joe Biden just a month or two after he took office. That was 3 1/2 years ago and I noticed in my interview before the conversation began that he was struggling.

This is an excerpt of an article by Fox News' Ryan Gyados