WEBVTT

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We're going to get two
perspectives now, two
different perspectives from

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Democratic members of
Congress, first from
Congressman Adam Smith.

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He's the top Democrat on the
House Armed Services Committee,

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who today called on
President Biden to abandon
his reelection efforts.

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Congressman Smith joins us
now. Thanks for being with us.

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So you say that President
Biden should exit the race.
Why? Does it have to do

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with his electoral chances
or, in your view, his ability
to do the job as president?

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REP. ADAM SMITH (D-WA):
There's two - - the two
most compelling reasons.

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Number one, I don't
believe the president is
an effective messenger at
this point. And that's the

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shame of it. We have a great
message. I think the president's
done a good job the last four

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years. When you look at where
the economy was when he came
in, he's managed that in a way

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that has put us in a
better position than
any other country in the
world coming out of COVID.

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He passed the infrastructure
bill. He passed the
Inflation Reduction Act. He

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has pulled together
this coalition that has
helped us stop Putin from

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taking over Ukraine. But what
we saw in the debate and what
we have seen since then and

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also in some instances
before that, he is not an
effective messenger for that.

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And he has health care concerns.
You saw that at the White
House press conference today,

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where there were not clear
answers given. So I just
think at, this point,

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there are other people
that could deliver that
message better. And
the stakes are so high.

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And, yes, we are distracted. But
I know the White House has said,

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well, members need to stop
talking about this. We're
not the ones bringing it up.

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We were not there at the
White House press - - press
event today. The media brought

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it up. Our constituents have
brought it up. It's what
people are talking about.

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Yes, it is a distraction from
talking about our message, from
talking about Donald Trump.

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But given President
Biden's performance in the
debate, what has happened
since then, we can't

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do that. I want the
most effective messenger
possible because the
stakes could not be higher.

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GEOFF BENNETT: Well, in a
letter that the president
wrote to congressional

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Democrats today, he said: "The
question of how to move forward

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has been well aired for
over a week now and it's
time for it to end."

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So the question I have
for you is, at this point,

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what are you planning to
do? The president says
he's not stepping aside.

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REP. ADAM SMITH: Yes, I'm
planning to deliver the message.

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And, look, I agree with you. I
think the president has dug in,

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and I think that's incredibly
unfortunate. But I just can't
let that go. It's too important,

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and that debate performance
and what has happened
since then made it

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too clear about his
inability to be an effective
messenger for this party.

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And, look, I pointed this out
earlier, but, four years ago,
when President Biden ran,

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he didn't get off to a very
good start in the primary
campaigns. He lost in Iowa,

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he lost in New Hampshire,
he lost in Nevada, and
then Bernie Sanders emerged
as the top candidate.

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And these same people who
Biden is now dismissing as
elites, which, by the way,

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are the Democratic Party,
were worried about that.
So they threw their support

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behind Joe Biden
and helped get other
candidates out of the race.

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You know, it's what the
Democratic Party has done. It's
not personal. It's not about Joe

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Biden. It's about what's
best for the party and
best for the country.
This time, it is clear to

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me that what's best for
the party and best for
the country is to have
a different candidate.

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And I just -- I feel so
strongly about that. What's
the honest answer to that

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question when people say,
well, what did you think
about the president's

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debate performance? What
do you think about the
president's health? What

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do you think about
this interview where he
didn't say it correctly?

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That's what we're peppered
with day in and day out,

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instead of being able to
talk about the message
that we want to talk
about. And that is not...

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(CROSSTALK)
REP. ADAM SMITH: ... fault.

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(CROSSTALK)
GEOFF BENNETT: Forgive me.

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If not President
Biden as the nominee,

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then who? Is it Vice President
Kamala Harris or someone else?

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REP. ADAM SMITH: Yes,
my personal feeling, I
think it should be Vice
President Harris. I

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think the last two years,
in particular, she's
been an outstanding
messenger for this party,

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particularly on the most salient
issue of those two years. And
that's reproductive health care

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for women. She has been very
strong in that regard. And I
-- that's who I would pick.

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But, look, we have a
couple dozen different,
really effective, talented,

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experienced candidates
all across the board.
The convention can make a
different choice. And I want

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to make one other point
clear. The president's
not the nominee yet. He's
the presumptive nominee.

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If we go through the convention
and he's the nominee, look, I
will support him. He's clearly

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the best choice. Elections are
a choice. He's a better choice
than who's in the field. I'm

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just worried that those
limitations mean that he's
not going to be good enough
to beat Donald Trump.

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GEOFF BENNETT: The president won
14 million votes in the primary.
It's often Democrats who accuse

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Republicans of trying to
disenfranchise voters.
What's the argument for
effectively throwing

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away the votes of 14
million people who have
said, Joe Biden is our guy?

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REP. ADAM SMITH: Two things
about that. Number one, Kamala
Harris was running with him,

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OK? Part of the reason that
I will also pick Kamala
Harris is because of that.

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And it was set up. If the
president can't do the job
of running this campaign,

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Kamala's right there,
and she got those votes
too, First of all.

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Second of all, what if
that debate had happened
in November of last year,

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OK? You can make a pretty
powerful argument that, since
all of those people voted,

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there has been a significant
shift in the president's
ability to run this campaign.

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And that's why we have the
option, the opportunity to
pick a different choice.

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And, look, I'm not trying
to pressure the president
into doing anything. What

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I sincerely hope is that he
and his advisers will do the
same thing that all Democrats

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did four years ago and
sit down and say, what's
the best path forward?
It's not primarily about

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Joe Biden. It's about the
country. It's about the
party. It's about the issues.

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Look at it and ask yourself
honestly, do we have a
better chance to win in

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November with Joe Biden at
the top of the ticket or
Kamala Harris at the top

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of the ticket? I think the
question answers itself
at this point. And I

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think that is what I'm hoping
that the way - - and I have
spoken to them, by the way.

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I didn't just do this out of
the blue. I spoke to them the
day after the debate and several

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times since. So, I just -- I
want the right choice to be made
for the sake of the country.

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GEOFF BENNETT: What do you
say to Democrats who view this
entire thing as unhelpful, that

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if President Biden stays
in the race, as he says
he will, he will emerge
from this damaged, one,

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by his own debate
performance, but, two, by
this open skepticism from
Democrats like yourself,

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that there's more harm than good
done by this, that he emerges,

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that the ticket emerges
from this devalued?

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REP. ADAM SMITH: I say
two things about that.

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First of all, this is out there.
We're not the ones bringing it
up. I have said this over and

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over again. I said it earlier,
OK? It is out there. It is
being brought up. The plan of

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let's just not address
it and hope it goes away
isn't working well. And
it's not because of us.

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The people are asking about it.
These are the calls that are
coming into my office. We're not

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the ones who are bringing
it up. And, second,
that is how strongly I
feel about this issue.

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Look, I had concerns. I mean,
the president was old when he
got elected the first time.

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He was older when he ran
the second time. And I had
concerns. He had alluded to the

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fact that he was a bridge.
He was going to run for
one term. And so I thought,

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yes, we should probably
get a different candidate.

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And, OK, he decided not
to do that. And I bought
into that and said, OK,
he's the nominee. Let's

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try to support him as much as
possible. And I did. Again, it
is how strongly I feel about

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it. The debate performance
wasn't just a bad night. It was
catastrophic in the performance.

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And it hasn't gotten a lot
better since then. So I hear
you, OK? It probably has

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a slight negative up front,
but if it gets us the positive
of a stronger nominee,

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I just feel so strongly about
the fact that we have to try.

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GEOFF BENNETT: That
is Congressman Adam
Smith of Washington.

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Thank you so much for sharing
your insights with us.