Hakeem Jeffries Shuts Down Reporter Asking What Happens If Biden ‘Fails To Deliver’ At Presser

House Democratic Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) shut down a reporter asking what happens if President Joe Biden “fails to deliver” at an upcoming high-stakes press conference.

President Biden’s press conference Thursday evening, amid pressure to drop out after his debate performance, is seen by many as a make-or-break moment.

At Leader Jeffries’s weekly press conference, reporters peppered him with questions about Biden — including a hypothetical that the leader shut down:

REPORTER: Just in the last few minutes, we got some reporting that several of President Biden’s closest allies now say they have — that he has zero chances of winning a direct quote is, “He needs to drop out,” from one Biden campaign official. “He will never recover from this.”

After the week and a half that we’ve had. Do you agree? Is it time?

LEADER HAKEEM JEFFRIES: Throughout this week, as House Democrats, we have engaged in a process of talking to each other. Those conversations have been candid, comprehensive, and clear eyed. And they continue.

Until that process has concluded. I’m not going to address what any outside stakeholders, may have to say about this matter.

REPORTER: How much longer can you allow the whole thing to go on before it ultimately wounds him?

LEADER HAKEEM JEFFRIES: House Democrats, Senate Democrats, and President Biden are unified on the affirmative agenda that we have for the American people related to lowering housing costs or ending price gouging.

Or growing the middle class, defending democracy and fighting for reproductive freedom.

President Biden, House Democrats and Senate Democrats are also united in pushing back against project 2025 and the extreme MAGA Republican agenda that’s unifying. Not dividing us.

REPORTER: Thank you, leader. If President Biden fails to deliver tonight. At tonight’s press conference. How would Democrats react?

LEADER HAKEEM JEFFRIES: That’s a speculative question. And as I indicated, we’re involved in an internal process that we take seriously. And until that process is concluded, I’m not really in a position to comment on external events.

REPORTER: After the last two weeks, you can recall that there was at least one poll that suggested that Biden and Trump are still mostly neck and neck. Is there a case that you have made or that you can make for staying the course with Biden as the nominee?

And then on top of that, if you don’t follow what the concerns are of some of these members are coming and speaking and don’t call on Biden to (inaudible) and he loses, you don’t get the House. You don’t become speaker. Why should the members trust your political judgment?

LEADER HAKEEM JEFFRIES: We’re going to work as hard as we can, to win back control of the United States House of Representatives in November.

And I think at the end of any election cycle, people are going to evaluate. What the performance of House Democratic leaders has been in achieving the objective.

That involves candidate recruitment, that involves. How much resources theD triple C is raising relative to our counterparts on the extreme MAGA Republican side of the aisle.

And it also involves what happens in any high profile special elections that may occur during the course of the 118th Congress, including ones that may happen to emerge in your own backyard.

The record will speak for itself. I’m not going to characterize it at this moment, but all of this information is in the public domain.

Watch above via Rep. Hakeem Jeffries.

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