Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
Mediaite
‘We’re So Damn Excited Now’: CNN’s Bakari Sellers Optimistic About Harris Despite ‘Chaos’ and ‘Confusion’ of Biden’s Exit from Race
By Sarah Rumpf,
2024-07-21
CNN political commentator Bakari Sellers reacted to the news that President Joe Biden was dropping out of the presidential race and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris by acknowledging both the “chaos” this decision had created but also expressing how he and other Democrats were “so damn excited” to back Harris.
The news of Biden’s exit sent shock waves through the American political scene Sunday afternoon, with the president posting a letter sharing that “[w]hile it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and my country for me to stand down and focus solely on fulfilling my duties as president for the remainder of my term.” He shortly followed that up with a statement announcing his “full support and endorsement” of Harris.
Sellers, a Democrat and former South Carolina state representative, was on CNN Sunday afternoon in the immediate aftermath of the breaking news, and was asked by CNN’s chief national security correspondent and guest anchor Alex Marquardt if he thought it was the “right decision.”
Sellers agreed with Marquardt that Biden’s announcements were “extraordinary” and said he didn’t want to “deal in the past,” because Democrats “have been doing that for the past month.”
He commented that he had felt “disenchantment with Democratic leadership in the way that Joe Biden was treated,” and then praised Biden as “one of the most consequential and transformative presidents this country’s ever seen.”
“By stepping aside and doing so today he continues that that mantra of being that transformational candidate,” Sellers added.
He said that the DNC rules committee had met earlier this week and the credentials committee would meet “momentarily,” so the rules will be clear for everyone, and he predicted there would be “efforts in place” to “ensure that the Vice President of the United States is able to drop into this campaign that is already up and running [and] has cash.”
“I think you’re going to see a boost or boom in donations over the next couple of days,” he continued, and voiced his skepticism for any sort of open primary.
Sellers pushed back on chatter coming from Republicans that Biden dropping out meant that he should also resign the presidency, calling Biden “a noble leader up until this point” who “will end his administration with a bang and do the work of the people” until the end of his term and then turn it over to Harris.
“And let me just tell you, as a Democrat, somebody — I was national co-chair for Kamala Harris for President — we’re so damn excited now,” Sellers concluded. “My phone is blowing up, it’s going crazy. I think that there is a lot of excitement, a lot of chaos, a lot of confusion. But at the end of the day, Democrats have Kamala Harris and a long list of others, possible VP individuals, taking on JD Vance and Donald Trump and we stand a fair chance.”
Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency:
Our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. As a platform hosting over 100,000 pieces of content published daily, we cannot pre-vet content, but we strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation.
Comments / 0