Former 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang said former President Donald Trump would defeat President Joe Biden if the 2024 presidential election were held today.
Yang made the comment to Fox News while campaigning in South Carolina with White House hopeful Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN).
“I had some conversations like that in South Carolina over the last number of days where people would actually come to me and say, ‘Do you really think Joe could lose to Trump?’” Yang told the outlet. “And I would say, not only could he lose to Trump, but if the election were held today, he would lose to Trump, and the poll numbers are generally getting worse, not better.”
Yang said he had talked to South Carolina primary voters concerned about Biden’s ability to win in November, describing them as primarily “middle-aged African American women” who do not believe the president is in a good spot to win the election.
“I happen to agree with that half,” Yang said.
Yang also directed cutting remarks at the Democratic National Committee for canceling state primaries, which he said suppresses democracy.
“The most extreme thing the DNC has done to stifle democracy is canceling the primaries in Florida and North Carolina and attempting to do so in another state or two,” Yang said. “I mean, it’s ridiculous to talk about championing democracy on one hand and then literally canceling primaries on the other. So, if Democrats want to practice democracy, that would involve having debates. That would involve having genuine competitive primaries. That would involve giving the people a choice.”
The former candidate said one way to make the primaries more competitive would be for the Biden administration to encourage Democratic leaders such as Govs. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) and Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) to run for president. However, Yang said many leaders within the Democratic Party are afraid to challenge Biden and instead have their sights set on 2028.
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“A lot of Democrats, you can tell, are just positioning themselves for 2028, including Gavin Newsom, who was in South Carolina this past number of days and saying, OK, like, ‘I will heed the word of the establishment and wait four years and risk throwing the country to Trump who is beating Joe Biden in most every national poll and in the all-important swing states,’ so I think it’s, like, a blend of self-interest and conformity,” Yang said.
Yang has been a staunch supporter of Phillips for going against the grain and challenging Biden. The Minnesota Democrat received 20% of the vote in the New Hampshire primary, while the president, whose name was not on the ballot, won 63.9% of the vote due to a successful write-in effort.