Rove, Brazile debate impact of Obama endorsing Biden in 2020 race
President Obama endorses his former vice president as the Democrat Party's agenda shifts to the left; Fox News contributors Karl Rove and Donna Brazile react.
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Appearing on “Fox & Friends” on Friday, former interim chair of the Democratic National Committee Donna Brazile and Former White House deputy chief of staff Karl Rove debated the impact of former President Barack Obama endorsing his vice president Joe Biden.
Brazile claimed that Obama’s endorsement showed that Democrats are united, however, Rove argued on Friday that Democrats “are coming together” but “on Bernie Sanders’ terms not Joe Biden’s agenda.”
On Tuesday, Obama formally endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden in the looming race against President Trump, stepping off the sidelines after withholding support for any candidate for months.
Obama made the announcement in a statement and video posted on social media.
“Choosing Joe to be my vice president was one of the best decisions I ever made, and he became a close friend. And I believe Joe has all the qualities we need in a president right now,” Obama said in the video.
In response, Rove said on “Fox & Friends” that in the video Obama “praised Bernie Sanders at great length [and] said that if he, Barack Obama, were running today he wouldn’t be running on his 2008 platform.”
Rove also noted that Obama “praised Joe Biden as the most liberal, most progressive, most left-wing candidate the Democratic party had ever nominated for president” and then pointed out that “this is the party that nominated George McGovern, Walter Mondale and Michael Dukakis.”
“President Obama was saying Biden was to the left of them,” Rove noted. “And then he went on to praise the Bernie Sanders agenda, basically suggesting free college and the Affordable Care Act was insufficient and inadequate and we've got to do something about income inequality.”
Rove went on to say that he thought it was an “unusual way” to go about endorsing Biden.
“He [Obama] was endorsing the winner of the primary, but he was saying that we got to basically run on the agenda of the loser because he represented the energy inside the Democratic Party,” Rove said, referring to Sanders, I-Vt., who dropped out of the 2020 race earlier this month. “Not a good way to go about appealing, in my opinion, to swing voters.”
In response Brazile, who wrote a Fox News op-ed reacting to Obama’s endorsement titled “Democrats coming together in 2020 presidential race and that's good news,” said she thought the video was “inspiring.”
“I thought the message was hopeful,” she continued.
Brazile added that “this platform is going to reflect the worries and concerns of the American people” and will “reflect this [coronavirus] pandemic and the steps that we should take to ensure that we’re never caught again without having solutions to fighting such a virus.”
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She noted that “President Obama remains extremely popular” and she believes he was speaking to young people, “the constituency that most concerns Democrats.”
“We want to make sure that young people understand that our platform and the way in which we are going to run this fall will not be by looking through the rear-view mirror, but looking forward and dealing with the challenges facing this economy and the American people and the American worker, in particular,” Brazile said.
When asked if he agrees with Brazile and thinks the Democratic Party is coming together Rove said, “I think they are coming together, but they are coming together on behalf of the left-wing agenda.”
“I don’t think the election is going to be decided by Republicans or Democrats only, it’s going to be decided by swing voters and a platform that says, 'We are willing to take away your private health insurance, we’re interested in free college, we’re interested in free healthcare for illegal immigrants, we’re in favor of a bunch of left-wing nostrums. On energy, we’re going to get rid of fracking,'” he said.
Rove added, “All these things that are part and parcel of the Bernie Sanders agenda that’s being embraced by President Obama and Vice President Biden. I don’t think they’re going to sell particularly well in swing states and among swing voters.”
“Take Pennsylvania, do you think that the energy revolution that they’ve had there that’s brought about a renaissance in manufacturing all based upon fracking is going to be well received? We’re going to shut off that valve of prosperity, no, I don’t think so,” Rove said. “Yeah, they are coming together, but they are coming together on Bernie Sanders’ terms, not Joe Biden’s agenda.”
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Brazile disagreed, saying she believes Democrats will come together "around an America that works for everyone, around a country that has heard the words and cries of those who have suffered from this virus."
Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser and Mike Emanuel contributed to this report.
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