A former Biden administration official lashed out at MSNBC hosts who asked about the rising poll numbers of Democratic presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr.
"I’m trying not to laugh," Symone Sanders, who served as spokeswoman for Vice President Kamala Harris, said after host Joe Scarborough mentioned that Kennedy is polling at 19 percent in his bid to take the Democratic nomination from President Joe Biden. Sanders shut down the idea of Kennedy or candidate Marianne Williamson getting an opportunity to challenge Biden.
.@SymoneDSanders: "The Democratic National Committee will not facilitate a primary process. There will be no debate stage for @RobertKennedyJr, @marwilliamson, or anyone else." pic.twitter.com/zt25JYVu7k
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) May 5, 2023
"The Democratic National Committee will not facilitate a primary process," Sanders said. "There will be no debate stage."
Kennedy has won the support of a significant chunk of Biden voters since he announced his candidacy in April. Fifteen percent of Biden's 2020 voters support Kennedy's bid, according to an April Fox News poll.
The Democratic National Committee’s attempt to hide Biden from any challenge comes as polls show the majority of Democratic voters don’t want him to run for a second term.
Just 37 percent of Democrats want Biden to stay in office for another term, down from 52 percent around last year's midterm elections, according to an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll.
Biden, who suggested during the 2020 campaign that he would only serve one term, is the oldest president in history and would be 86 years old at the end of a second term.