On Friday, CBS Mornings hosted Biden campaign surrogate Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna of California. However, Khanna at least acknowledging President Biden’s gaffes and pleas for Democrats to stick with Joe fell on deaf ears at the table.
CBS co-host Tony Dokoupil began however by mentioning the press conference that Biden held on Thursday:
“Congressman Jim Hines came out and said, if you take a cold, hard look at the Biden presidency and candidacy, he's not gonna win and he could lose the House and the Senate for Democrats. How cold and hard is your view this morning? Should he step aside?”
When Dokoupil asked Khanna if he thought the president should step down, Khanna quickly answered “No Tony, he shouldn’t,” adding that Biden was “at his best yesterday" and defined Biden as “comfortable” and “substantive” when discussing public policy.
Dokoupil quickly cut him off and asked “But Congressman – this is not about substance, nor is it about policy. It’s not a question of does he govern behind closed doors. It’s can he sell his presidency to the American people. ” Dokoupil wondered why Biden should “stick in the race” when he couldn't find any Democrats who want him to remain.
Khanna responded with an odd claim that Biden is the “underdog” in this election. Although he admitted that Biden is “not as articulate as he was in 2020,” to Khanna the race will “come down not just to who's the best talker, but who do people trust on the economy and my view is that no polling has shown that he doesn't have a path victory.”
Co-host Natalie Morales wanted to draw attention to Biden’s recent gaffes the day of the NATO summit and his press conference. These slip-ups included him calling President Volodymyr Zelenskyy "President Putin" and referring to Vice President Kamala Harris as "Vice President Trump." Morales explained that citizens are focusing on these “missteps” more and more.
When Morales asked Khanna if Biden’s gaffes were a concern, he answered that “it is a concern” and this is “true about anyone who has followed Vice -- President Biden’s career, but those gaffes have been exacerbated by age.” Khanna claimed that “where he is strong is on the substance.”
Khanna suggested he could do an interview with The New York Times or The Washington Post, since they have been going after Biden, or come on CBS. Biden hasn't granted an interview to either of these papers during his entire presidency.
Dokoupil shared some cold, hard truths including a CBS poll that showed half of Biden’s voters from 2020 don’t want him to run. Khanna said primary voters picked Trump and Biden. "We will get a new generation, there are 20 talented Democrats, 20 talented Republicans, I can't wait 'til we have a new generation. But that is not this election."
Dokoupil hit one last time “You can’t govern and you can’t stand up to Putin if you can’t win and people have doubts about his ability to win.” Looking to play the underdog card one last time, Khanna replied “I think we can win. I think we're an underdog, but there is clearly a path to victory.”
Click "Expand" to view the transcript:
CBS Mornings
7/12/2024
8:00:28 p.m.
TONY DOKOUPIL: Well we’re gonna begin this hour with one of President Biden’s biggest supporters to get his take on last nights’ news conference in Washington. The President did answer questions for nearly an hour, most of them or at least many of them about his health and the growing calls for him to step away from the presidential race.
California Congressman Ro Khanna is on the Biden campaign's national advisory board and he's been taking and answering questions from critics on the left, in person, and on social media and he joins us now.
Congressman, thank you very much for being here. You know, after yesterday's press conference, Congressman Jim Hines came out and said, if you take a cold, hard look at the Biden presidency and candidacy, he's not gonna win and he could lose the House and the Senate for Democrats. How cold and hard is your view this morning? Should he step aside?
REPRESENTATIVE RO KHANNA (D-CA): No Tony, he shouldn't. First of all, he was at his best yesterday. I mean, he is most comfortable when he is talking about policy. On foreign policy, frankly, he was more substantive than 90% of people in Congress and he was very thoughtful on calling for a new industrial policy. I mean, one of the points that he made is we have had a rebound in the most deindustrialized parts of this country -- the parts that Trump talked about record job creation there in the last three years more than in the last 20 years. And yeah --
DOKOUPIL: But, Congressman --
KHANNA: Yeah?
DOKOUPIL: -- this is not about substance, nor is it about policy.
KHANNA: Right.
DOKOUPIL: That is something that people want to get to talking about but right now we’re talking about a presidential campaign.
KHANNA: Sure.
DOKOUPIL: You know, it’s not a question of does he govern behind closed doors. It’s can he sell his presidency to the American people. I talked to voters in Wisconsin this week. Uniformly, Democrats say no. I can't find any Democrat actually all around this country in my travels who says, yes, stick in the race. So why stick in the race?
KHANNA: Well, there are -- he has a lot of support still. I mean, even the polling yesterday, ABC poll had it at a dead heat. I grant that he's an underdog and I grant that he is not as articulate as he was in 2020 and that there are legitimate concerns about who can win. But even if you think that he's a few points down, that doesn't mean that the race is not winnable. Ultimately, the race is going to come down not just to who's the best talker, but who do people trust on the economy and my view is that no polling has shown that he doesn't have a path victory. I mean, the swing states are still fairly close.
DOKOUPIL: They're still swinging.
NATALIE MORALES: Congressman -- yes, but Congressman Ro Khanna, there is also this sort of, before every event now people are watching these events, these news conferences, watching debates and it’s sort of like with bated breath, like, what is -- what is the misstep going to be this time? And we saw failures yesterday and it seems like a lot of people are focusing on this with, of course, President Biden at that NATO event calling President Volodymyr Zelenskyy President Putin and then calling Vice President Kamala Harris Vice President Trump. I mean, these are things that people and voters are focusing on and they're saying there are more and more of these missteps happening. Is that a concern for you at all?
KHANNA: It is a concern, Natalie and look, he always had certain gaffes. I mean, this is true about anyone who has followed Vice -- President Biden’s career, but those gaffes have been exacerbated by age. But where he is strong is on the substance. Now, what I would say is he has to do a few things.
One, he should go to The New York Times and sit down and have an editorial board interview. You know, Napoleon once said that having four hostile newspapers is worse than having a thousand people with bayonets. Let me tell you that is a lesson for the Biden campaign. I mean, every day The Times is going after him, The Post is going after him. Have him come and do a conversation with all of you on CBS Morning ---
MORALES: We would love that -- we invite him.
KHANNA: -- have him do town halls that are out there with voters and I don’t think -- the American people are very fair. We can't gaslight them. You can’t say he's the same person as he was. We gotta say, look, he has wisdom, he has experience, he has the right values, he can do the job but he is going to make gaffes and there are going to be time where's he's not going to remember someone in the way that he did.
VLADIMIR DUTHIERS: But congressman --
DOKOUPIL: Congressman, we're talking about the presidency, I mean, those times could come at very inopportune moments in a very unstable world and that’s what voters are concerned about. And you talk about the polls, half of his own voters from 2020, in a CBS poll, don’t want him to run. There is more polling that came out this morning, two-thirds of voters, Democrats, don't want him to run. Why is that message not getting through?
KHANNA: Tony, two-thirds of the voters don't want either of them to run, right? Look, this country wants something new. I get that. They want a new generation of leadership. That’s not who we nominated on either side. We have a democratic process. We will get a new generation, there are 20 talented Democrats, 20 talented Republicans, I can't wait 'til we have a new generation. But that is not this election.
DUTHIERS: -- Congressman, let me ask you, you're on this advisory committee, do you acknowledge that the administration made some missteps in the wake of that disastrous debate performance? Should the President – the President should have come out and held that press conference that he held last night 12 days ago. Perhaps that would have quelled some of these drum beats that we hear for him to step out of the race. What happened there?
KHANNA: Yes, there was a mistake. I mean, one --
DUTHIERS: It was a mistake?
KHANNA: -- absolutely there was a mistake. One, there was too much defensiveness. Second, people saw with their own eyes that the president had not just a bad night, but that -- the -- whether he was the same person as he was a few years ago. And I think he had to be honest about that. And people, they shouldn't have dismissed the critics as bed-wetters and as elites. I mean, these aren’t just elites. These are ordinary voters who are -- have these concerns.
DUTHIERS: Is that why the donor money is drying up because the President criticized those people who had those real concerns after what they saw on their television screen --
KHANA: Look --
DUTHIERS: -- 50 million Americans?
KHANNA: -- there are donor concerns, absolutely, but donors aren't going to pick the nominee of the party and the President's money hasn't dried up. I was just on a call with 500 donors last night, probably, many of whom have concerns but many of whom are still gonna support him. Look at the end of the day, my view is what the voters are asking -- is we've got a binary choice, who is going to do more to keep this country secure, and who is going to do more for their lives economically? In terms of security, I thought the President is gonna -- made it clear, he’ll stand up to Putin. Donald Trump, we have to ask, is he gonna give Putin one fifth of Ukraine?
DOKOUPIL: That’s exactly what it's about though. You can’t govern and you can’t stand up to Putin if you can’t win and people have doubts about his ability to win. You apparently do not. Are you saying that, if you could wave a magic wand, you would still stick with President Joe Biden as the candidate?
KHANNA: It is unclear to me at this time, if I -- if I could wave -- wave a magic wand and have an open primary going back two years, I would take that. But with three months, four months, it is unclear to me someone new can come in and win.
I don't think Barack Obama, who was the greatest talent in the last 50 years, if you put him in -- in a three-month sprint, would be able to convince the American people. And so, we’re at a point where President Biden said he's the nominee and until he says otherwise, we've gotta make the case for him. And I think we can win I think we're an underdog, but there is clearly a path to victory.
MORALES: Okay.
DOKOUPIL: Oh, boy.
MORALES: I guess the key now is seeing if the rest of your party will come together on that. Well, Representative Ro Khanna, we’re out of time. Thank you so much. We could spend a lot more time with you.
