David Plouffe: Without More Voters Saying, ‘Actually, He Is up for This’ I Don’t Think We Can Win

PSAKI: “And it’s very incumbent on the president. I mean, the buck stops with the candidate, just to kind of double down on what you just said. I want to ask you — I mean, there’s lots of risks and threats. I do want to talk about the open convention possibility, which, again, there’s no indication Joe Biden is dropping out or not going to run, but I think it’s important for people to understand, who might still support that, even if they learn more about it, what that would mean. Explain to us kind of what factors should be considered for those calling for a convention. Like, for example, my view is that if he doesn’t endorse the vice president of the United States, that is seismic. You may disagree with me, but what are the factors people aren’t factoring in here?”
PLOUFFE: “Well, Jen, with the important caveat that this is likely not going to happen, so we’re engaging in kind of fantasy, but, you know, we can do that. So, first of all, yes, there’s a threshold question. Will Joe Biden say, ‘I’m not going to run, and I’d like all my delegates to support Kamala Harris?’ He could say, ‘I want an open convention where people can make their case.’ Then candidates, Kamala Harris most importantly, governors and senators will make a decision about whether to run. What that looks like? It’s kind of gross, because it’s not voters, it’s delegates. But you would basically be running a campaign, both wholesale, maybe there would be debates, there’d certainly be a lot of interviews on MSNBC, on podcasts, people traveling the states, meeting with delegates, smoky back rooms. So that’s a downside. It’s like insiders picking the new person. The political graveyard is littered with people, Ron DeSantis being the latest member of that graveyard, who looked like they were surefire, great presidential candidates on paper. This stage, as you know well, is withering. Most people don’t survive it. So to someone coming out of that tent, maybe the party is divided. So there’s a bunch of downsides, no question. Maybe there is an upside, which is, it’s a younger, newer face. We know a lot of Americans, including a lot of Democrats, would like another choice. So, that provides some energy. It’s a different race for Donald Trump to win and run, I think much harder. So I think that, as often is the case around the presidency and presidential campaigns, there is no Aaron Sorkin screenplay here. There’s downsides and challenges, some upsides on each, but it would not be — people who think, ‘Oh, we just get somebody else and they are going to walk to the White House,’ that is complete BS. There is a bunch of landmines in that option as well. I also think there’s some upsides. And I think Joe Biden, he is at the lowest point right now, I think, in terms of his campaign, so you’ve gotta think he can grow from here. And so a race that looks right now to be Donald Trump’s, small — but it reminds me of ‘12, right? You know, there were national polls that showed us tied with Romney, some even down, but we knew reliably we had a small advantage in the battleground states. That’s where the race is right now. Can Joe Biden overcome that? I think he can. But we should be honest about where we are, which is, without more voters saying, ‘Actually, I think he’s up for this,’ we won’t win. That’s what I’m hoping.”
PSAKI: “Yeah. I think it’s so important to be honest about where we are and honest about the fact that there are real discussions, important discussions that people are having out there. It’s important that people inform themselves, and no one understands all the paths. David Plouffe, thank you, as always, for helping me break all of that down and give more people to digest.”