CNN panelist and former Democratic state senator Nina Turner called on other Democrats to jump in the race on Sunday as President Biden has still not officially announced his re-election bid.
"I think the problem that Democrats are going to face is that Biden is not without risk," CNN political commentator Kristen Soltis Anderson said. "He would be the oldest man elected president. There are moments when he seems feisty and ready to fight Republicans, and there are moments that do leave doubts in the minds of voters who are watching."
She added that Democrats "have to be a little nervous" about if it isn't Biden.
"There's no need to be nervous, I mean, people should just jump in. Let's jump in," Turner said. She was also asked if Biden should be challenged in the Democratic primary.
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"Absolutely he should be challenged," she said. CNN political commentator David Urban agreed.
"Voters deserve – this is democracy," he added. "This is not a dictatorship. Voters deserve to have choice, period. And you know, I rock on the freedom fighting side of the ledger. I want to see a robust debate. One of the things that our campaign did in 2016 and in 2020, I’m talking about Senator Bernard Sanders is we lifted the debate in terms of what people really need and deserve in this country. And the only way to get that kind of robust debate is to have people on that stage. So on the Republican side, the more the merrier, and on the democratic side, the more the merrier."
Former Biden speechwriter Jeff Nussbaum said that the argument for someone "new" isn't a "winning argument."
"When you look at Nikki Haley’s announcement video, when you listen to what Tim Scott is saying, a lot of the message is like ‘new, new, new.’ And I keep thinking like yeah, new Coke was new but it didn’t do very well. New alone is not necessarily a winning argument. And so you need to put forward something. And I’ve been paying attention to what’s going on the right, because I’m totally in it for Joe Biden. I think he’s got the record. And he’s done what he said he was going to do. And so I think that’s powerful," he said.
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Anderson said that "new Coke" doesn't work because people liked the "original Coke."
"This is not about Coke, though. I don’t disagree Jeff, if it’s just new, that’s not it. We need a vision that provides provision for the people," Turner added.
Spiritual adviser and bestselling self-help author Marianne Williamson announced her intention to run in the Democratic primary on Thursday.
Biden has not formally announced his 2024 re-election bid, but the White House has said numerous times that it is his "intention to run."
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Feb. 12 that Biden intends to run for re-election in 2024.
