AOC Praises Biden As Democrats’ ‘Strongest Nominee’

Although President Joe Biden is technically being challenged by Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) and author Marianne Williamson in the 2024 Democratic presidential primary, the Democratic National Committee has done its best to escort the widely unpopular incumbent through the process without any real threat to his eventual nomination.

As the general election draws nearer, Democrats — including some who have been critical of Biden over the past three years — are starting to coalesce behind him in order to signal party unity.

One notable example is U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who was recently asked by NBC News host Kristen Welker to weigh in on the political headwinds against Biden.

Ignoring the president’s disastrous polling numbers, the lawmaker instead focused on Biden’s performance in the recent New Hampshire primary after a concerted Democratic Party effort to encourage voters to write in his name on ballots.

“I think what we have right now, what we’ve seen in New Hampshire, he is virtually the nominee of the party,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “His turnout in New Hampshire is actually not something to ignore. We saw, from a write-in campaign, remember, President Biden wasn’t even on the ballot in New Hampshire, he won overwhelmingly with turnout that even exceeded Obama 2012 when Obama was on the Ballot. And so, there are quite a few indicators in his strength in New Hampshire.”

Biden’s name was not on the state’s primary ballots due to a rift that opened after the Democratic Party insisted that the party’s first 2024 primary be held in South Carolina, which was instrumental in securing the president’s nominee four years ago.

“We will see what happens in South Carolina and, of course, when we get to important primaries like Michigan,” Ocasio-Cortez added.

When asked whether she believes Biden is the “strongest person” to take on former President Donald Trump in the general election, she asserted that he is a stronger nominee than either Phillips or Williamson, though her lone caveat was that he has not gone far enough to advance her own far-left political priorities.

“I think we can certainly do more to be advancing our vision,” the New York Democrat said. “And I believe that we have a strong vision that we can run on. You know, I think, and for what it’s worth, the president has said, ‘If you give me the House and if you give me the Senate and if you re-elect me to the presidency, we will codify abortion rights and the right to choose in this country. We’ll codify reproductive rights.’ I think we can do more.”