His remarks, made during a CNN interview, don’t specifically mention President Joe Biden and continue to fuel speculation that Democratic Party insiders will apply enough pressure to force Biden to step aside as the nominee. Booker said he did not want to address the party’s issues publicly, adding that the proposition of Biden ending his candidacy and being replaced at next month’s Democratic National Convention remains a possibility, according to The Hill, which reported the exchange. “I’ve been very, very pointed with press all throughout the week that I’m not airing these things publicly,” Booker said. “I have very directly had conversations with the White House, with the president and his team, and with Chuck Schumer, our leader, but I’m a big believer that right now the worst thing to do in terms of hurting the Democratic brand is to air a lot of these issues publicly,” he added. “That’s my decision. And I’m going to make sure that I position myself best to support whoever our nominee is coming out of the convention.” Booker’s comments occur as a growing list of individuals within the Democratic Party are calling on Biden to step down, following his universally panned debate performance against former President Donald Trump two-and-a-half weeks ago. Recently, multiple House Democratic ranking members told House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries they believe Biden needs to step aside from the campaign. Those conversations happened as a memo was circulated among top Democrats detailing a strategy that would allow Biden to end his re-election bid while doing minimal damage to the party. The plan called for Biden announcing an end to his candidacy, which would be followed by a “blitz primary” where a new slate of candidates can vie for the nomination. This would involve weekly forums moderated by cultural icons such as Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey, and the new nominee would be chosen by delegates using ranked choice voting before next month’s Democratic convention.Senator Cory Booker (D-N.Y.) says that in the 2024 election he will support “whoever our nominee is coming out of the convention.”
Despite growing calls for his departure, Biden remains committed to staying in the race.
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article did not specify that Booker did not explicitly call for Biden to step down
