CNN’s Brianna Keilar Stunned As House Democrat Insists Calls For Biden to Step Aside Don’t Represent Voters

Despite more Democratic lawmakers having publicly called on President Joe Biden to end his bid for reelection, he dug in his heels in a new statement on Friday promising a return to the campaign trail. One Democratic member of Congress is still behind him, and CNN’s Brianna Keilar could not convince him otherwise.

Keilar spoke with Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-MD) who expressed his full support for Biden as the Democratic nominee, even as the walls reportedly seemed to close in around the president. Their conversation, and Ivey’s insistence on what voters — as opposed to donors, the media, other Democrats, and reportedly senior aides — are saying about Biden staying in the race. First Keilar and Ivey discussed Biden’s bad polling:

Ivey: Well, we may be looking at different polls, because I think there was some movement in Virginia, for example. But I don’t see the movement, certainly not a “the floor falling out of the room” kind of numbers.

Keilar: I’m talking about movement, trending in the wrong direction.

Ivey: That’s what I mean too.

Keilar: The momentum that obviously other Democrats are reading perhaps differently than you’re reading.

Ivey: Well…

Keilar: Why is that, do you think?

Ivey: We’ll set the polls to the side for a moment, because I really don’t think you’ve seen numbers there where he’s no longer a viable candidate.

Keilar: Donors believe differently. They’re looking at internals, right? They have internals.

Ivey: Well, I can’t speak to those.

Keilar: Well, I just want to be clear, we don’t use those, but they certainly speak to what they are putting stock in. And you just heard our report that they are saying they’re going to withhold money for down-ballot races because they’re trying to mobilize members of Congress like yourself, like others, to come out against this. They have real concerns.

Ivey: Let me address that and then back up to the other point. But, you know, one of the things the Democratic Party has really fought about is to what extent were a moneyed interest party, and to what extent were a party of the people. And being controlled by the donor class I don’t think sends the right message at this time. For the voters we’re trying to reach out to — swing voters, persuadable voters, African-American, not constant voters, but irregular voters — that’s not the message that they want to hear. You know, the big dollar folks are telling we want somebody else.

And the 14 million people that cast votes for Joe Biden already, I don’t know that they want to hear that their votes are going to be preempted because big money ventures have a different view. But to back up to a moment, to which you were saying a moment ago, there’s momentum out there, but it’s not necessarily coming from the voters. There’s a lot of momentum from donors, media and the like that keep focusing on this issue.

Keilar: Eight Democrats today…

Ivey: And I’m not saying that’s unfair– okay.

Keilar: Officials within the Biden campaign and the White House.

Ivey: My colleagues — I don’t know about the anonymous folks. I can’t speak to that.

Keilar: They’re real people!

Ivey: Okay. But, you know, real voters aren’t moving in the way that you guys are talking about.

Watch the video above via CNN.