The big question about President Joe Biden's candidacy isn't about when he's leaving his presidential campaign, but who will replace him as nominee, former Rep. Jack Kingston said on Newsmax, Sunday.
"I think it is any day now [but] I do think all they're doing is working through the money transfer and the logistics, and whose names will be on the ballots," the Georgia Republican, appearing on Newsmax's "Wake Up America Weekend" with former Rep. Pete King, R-N.Y., said.
The biggest problem is the Democrats' backup candidate for the ticket, as Vice President Kamala Harris is "not any better as a candidate," Kingston added.
"If they had a great second choice, then I think they would have done this quicker," he said. But they're trying to figure out, OK, how do we shore up Kamala? How do we make her sellable to the American public? I think that's what they're debating right now more than the date itself."
Meanwhile, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the former House speaker, is pushing for an open convention rather than allowing Harris to become the candidate automatically, and King said that there is "no love lost" between the two women.
"I've known Nancy Pelosi for many years, back when she was just an ordinary member of Congress," King said of the California Democrat. "Whatever her age, Nancy Pelosi is as sharp as ever. She knows what she's doing. She's playing chess. And the others are trying to learn how to play checkers."
Pelosi also realizes that Harris is a "weak candidate," and she wants someone else to seek the nomination.
He added that the situation is unusual, though.
"You're actually, you know, removing from the ticket the man who got 14 million votes in the primaries, who was being lauded by the media for having such a great record and being on top of his game," said King. "Suddenly, now, because he's allegedly senile and doesn't know where he's going, he has to be removed from the ticket, even though the Democratic voters have selected him."
Kingston agreed that it's "bizarre that we're having this conversation."
"But the Democrats are a tough, brutal party," he said. "They will throw Kamala Harris overboard. They will throw this 'protecting democracy' overboard if it means winning. Because right now it's all about winning to them. And they're going to figure it out."
Meanwhile, Republican nominee Donald Trump has "run an excellent campaign," and the "only candidate who can beat Donald Trump now, I believe, is Donald Trump," said King.
"If he stays on the path that he's been on and stays away from mindless sideline controversies, I think he should be the winner in November," said King. "Having said that, we have to realize one thing. No matter who the Democrats end up with as their candidate, the mainstream media is going to be behind that candidate 100%."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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