Transcript: Biden campaign co-chair Cedric Richmond on "Face the Nation," July 21, 2024
The following is a transcript of an interview with Biden campaign co-chair Cedric Richmond on "Face the Nation" that aired on July 21, 2024.
MARGARET BRENNAN: We turn now to the co-chairman of the Biden-Harris reelection campaign, Cedric Richmond, and he joins us this morning from New Orleans. Good morning to you.
CEDRIC RICHMOND: Good morning.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So, Congressman, we heard, as you know, before you from two- two allies of Joe Biden who have now changed their position. And we now look at the tally of roughly 40 lawmakers who have called for Joe Biden to step aside. Clearly, leadership is setting up a permission structure for lawmakers to come out and say these things. Has Joe Biden lost control of the Democratic Party?
CEDRIC RICHMOND: No, he's not. And he's heard those concerns, and I want to be crystal clear. He's made a decision. And that decision is to accept the nomination, and run for reelection, win reelection. And I think that there are those out there that need to hear it again, that he made a decision, he's going to be the candidate, he's going to be the next president. And now it's time to focus on the threat that Donald Trump poses and what the extreme agenda is on the other side.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Is the President aware that the calls are only growing in number and not diminishing?
CEDRIC RICHMOND: The President is aware of the calls and the President has made clear that members should do what they think they need to do. And he's going to do what the American people need him to do. And that's to beat Donald Trump, focus again on working families, protecting women's reproductive rights, building the economy from the bottom up in the middle route. All of those things are what's on Joe Biden's mind. And every moment that we continue to talk about a decision that has already been made means that's a moment we're not talking about Project 2025 or presi- former president who's trying to divide the country.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Do you think that Speaker Je- that Leader Jeffries, former Speaker Pelosi, and Leader Schumer could stop these conversations if they want it?
CEDRIC RICHMOND: No, I was a member of the House. Members of the House are going to say and do whatever they want to do, and they--
MARGARET BRENNAN: --That is a big thing to come out against their own president.
CEDRIC RICHMOND: And the President has a right to run for reelection. 14 million people voted for him. 80 million people voted for him in the last election. And look, you just had Dean Phillips on who ran against him. The president beat Dean Phillips in the Dean Phillips' own district. And the voters in Congressman Dean's district wanted the President to be the nominee and he is the nominee and he's going to be the next President of the United States.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So in our CBS polling, Donald Trump has a five point advantage on Joe Biden at this point in the race and in a hypothetical head-to-head, Trump has a three point advantage over Vice President Kamala Harris. If she was running on the same platform of achievements as Biden, if the President says she is just as qualified, are you confident that she could move to the top of the ticket and beat Donald Trump?
CEDRIC RICHMOND: What I'm confident in is that the Biden Harris team- ticket can beat Donald Trump and that America needs them to beat Donald Trump. And if you look at the voters that are coalescing around President Biden and Vice President Harris, it's the people with the most on the line. We're talking about working families, we're talking about women whose reproductive rights were taken away. We're talking about minority voters where the Supreme Court's attacking diversity, equity and inclusion and all of those things, and those are the voters that are rallying around the president and want him to continue to fight which he said he's going to do.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So our CBS polling team asked voters if they think Joe Biden should step aside and give another candidate a chance to run a sizeable; four in 10, black voters, and about the same number of Democrats writ large, think Biden ought to step aside as nominee. What do you make of those numbers?
CEDRIC RICHMOND: Well, that's the question asked. But did you ask those voters are they voting for Biden? Do- did you ask them if they want someone who's going to stand up and fight for their rights, someone who's going to stand up and protect their freedom, someone who's going to unite the country, someone who's going to make sure that America is respected on the world stage? And so, look, we never thought this would be an easy race. And anyone who thought this was going to be an easy race was delusional. So we're preparing a campaign that can win in November. So that's thousands of of paid canvases. That's hundreds of offices open to talk to voters, and we're gonna go out there and do the hard work to run this race. This is not a time for a sunshine Patriot or summer soldier. This is hard work, and we're going to do it.
MARGARET BRENNAN: But you were just talking about how members of your own party are continuing to come out against the party's nominee. This is the dominant conversation right now. Not all the messages that you would like to have front and center or issue wise, how much time do you have here before it really starts hurting Joe Biden, that fellow Democrats are denigrating him? When do you- when do you think he can actually persuade his party?
CEDRIC RICHMOND: The President's going to run his campaign. He's not trying to persuade his party. He's trying to persuade the voters that he will wake up every day fighting for them and that the guy on the other side, who's unhinged, and who only thinks about himself is going to continue to divide this country and sell out working class and working families to the billionaire class. And so while my former colleagues and elected officials will continue to ponder and continue to talk, we're going to continue to talk about the issues in this race. And my advice to our elected members is to go out there and talk to your voters about what's at stake in this election. We've heard your concerns. The President believes he is the best person to beat Donald Trump. I agree with him. And by the way, he's not- Donald Trump has run in three Republican primaries and beat dozens of candidates. Nobody beat him. He won the presidency and Joe Biden is the only person in the history of the United States to beat Donald Trump and he's the best positioned to do it again. And so much is at stake. We should really focus on what's at stake, the character of the two people, the record accomplishments of this past administration, and we should go knock doors and we should go tell it on a mountain, that this race is important and Joe Biden is the person to beat Donald Trump.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I know you were with Joe Biden on Tuesday when he- he was speaking at NAACP. Have you spoken to him since? How is he feeling mentally right now about this?
CEDRIC RICHMOND: The President is feeling good. Look, Joe Biden is a guy who has been knocked down many times in his life, and I mean, serious knockdowns, but he never stays down. He wakes up because it's not just about him. He knows how important this is for America, and he's going to continue to fight. So he's in a fighting mode and I'm with him, and I'm gonna be with him until the wheels fall off. And I hear that everywhere I go, that people want the president to fight, he's gonna fight, we're gonna win. And we're going to stay focused on the American people and we're not going to worry about history, because we're trying to build a future for this country. We still have to protect the planet, create jobs, help working families, and that's what he's talking about every day. He's still campaigning while he's down making calls. And so he's been the fighter that he's always been and he's the fighter that we need.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Cedric Richmond from the Biden campaign thank you. We'll be back in a moment.