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By Andrew Stanton
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Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. addressed the possibility of replacing President Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee.
Biden is facing calls from many Democrats to step aside following a poorly received debate performance against former President Donald Trump on Thursday night. Biden's voice sounded hoarse, and he mumbled throughout many of his answers, doing little to dispel concerns about his age among swing voters as Trump was widely perceived as having more energy throughout the night.
Biden's debate performance sent Democrats into a panic as they fear he may not be a strong candidate to go against Trump in the November election. Many Democrats are now saying he should be replaced ahead of the Democratic convention scheduled for August.
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Kennedy, who previously challenged Biden in the Democratic primary before changing his party affiliation to independent, was pressed by NewsNation's Chris Cuomo about whether he would be open to replacing Biden as the nominee.
Cuomo said Biden is "in freefall," and that Kennedy being the Democratic nominee could "really solve their problems and yours at the same time."
He asked: "Would you be open to talking to them if they reached out to you?"
"Of course I would talk to them. It would put me on the ballot with nobody trying to get me off," Kennedy responded, adding that he believes the Democratic National Committee would otherwise try to get him removed from the ballot in states across the country.
However, Kennedy would find himself at odds with Democratic voters on key issues, such as the COVID-19 vaccination. He has also given mixed statements about abortion, a key issue for Democrats.
He did not participate in the debate, as CNN said he did not meet their qualifications. Instead, he hosted his own version of the presidential debate.
It remains unclear whether Democrats would consider Kennedy as a potential replacement for Biden, should he decide to step down from the campaign. Pundits have listed several potential replacements, such as Vice President Kamala Harris, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and California Governor Gavin Newsom.
Newsweek reached out to the Biden and Kennedy campaigns for comment via email.
In order for Biden to be replaced at the top of the ticket this late in the campaign, he would likely have to pull out of the race. It is unclear whether he could lose the nomination in a contested convention, and he has won the vast majority of Democratic delegates during the primary season.
Biden is on track to be confirmed as the party's 2024 nominee at the Democratic convention in Chicago in August after winning 3,904 of the available 3,949 delegates. A candidate needs 1,968 delegates to become the nominee.
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