Democrats rip DNC for not holding 2024 primary debates: 'Robs the voters'
The DNC currently has no Democratic primary debates scheduled
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson and others criticized a lack of Democratic primary debates as "undemocratic" and "unfortunate" as President Biden is preparing to announce his re-election bid.
"The DNC ‘plans no primary debates.’ As though there simply ARE no other candidates … no other ideas we should discuss about ways to win in 2024, or other ideas we should discuss about ways to repair the country. Too many people are too smart to accept this," Williamson said.
Nina Turner, a former Ohio state senator and co-chair of Bernie Sanders' 2020 presidential campaign, said the DNC's decision was "undemocratic" and that it "robs voters of choice."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In 2020, the RNC also did not sponsor any primary debates between then-President Trump and his challengers. Several candidates sought the nomination, including former GOP congressman Joe Walsh and former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld, but none of them were considered remotely serious threats to Trump.
Self-help author Marianne Williamson speaks to the crowd as she launches her 2024 presidential campaign in Washington, Saturday, March 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
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"It’s simple — I believe in democracy, therefore I believe in debates. The DNC, RNC, and every third party should hold that same belief in a democracy. This isn’t a radical idea," Turner said in another tweet on Monday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently announced that he would also be challenging Biden in the Democratic primary.
"I've come here today to announce my candidacy for Democratic nomination for President of the United States," Kennedy said at a hotel in Boston. "My mission over the next 18 months of this campaign, and throughout my presidency, will be to end the corrupt merger of state and corporate power that is threatening now to impose a new kind of corporate feudalism on our country."
He criticized the DNC's decision to not sponsor any debates during a podcast appearance on Sunday, saying it was "unfortunate."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}BOSTON, MA - APRIL 19: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is joined by family and supporters on stage after announcing his candidacy for President on April 19, 2023 in Boston, Massachusetts. An outspoken anti-vaccine activist, RFK Jr. joins self-help author Marianne Williamson in the Democratic presidential field of challengers for 2024. (Scott Eisen/Getty Images)
"The DNC, at this point, has taken the official position that there will be no debate, and I think that’s unfortunate," he told Breitbart's Joel Pollak.
He also criticized the DNC's decision to alter the top of its presidential nominating calendar for the 2024 election cycle by voting to bump Iowa and New Hampshire from their leadoff positions.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during a rally hosted by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) at Richard Montgomery High School on August 25, 2022 in Rockville, Maryland. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
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Biden is preparing to announce his re-election campaign on April 25, the four-year anniversary of his 2020 campaign launch, via video.
None of the announced candidates are considered major threats to him getting the nomination again. Biden survived a gigantic field in 2020 that included now-Vice President Kamala Harris, current Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, D.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Republicans are set to hold their first presidential primary debate in Milwaukee in August.