MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
We're following this afternoon's breaking news, President Joe Biden abandoning his 2024 reelection bid for the White House. In a letter published to X, formerly Twitter, the president writes, quote, "I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and focus solely on fulfilling my duties as president for the remainder of my term." History - and it comes four weeks before Democrats are set to officially make their nomination at their convention in Chicago and, of course, after weeks of high-profile leaders in the party publicly and privately urging Biden to cede the nomination. Well, one Democratic leader who had continued to support President Biden in the campaign is Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz. She also was chair of the Democratic National Committee before stepping down in 2016. Congresswoman, welcome to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.
DEBBIE WASSERMAN SHULTZ: Thank you for having me.
KELLY: Your reaction to the president's decision - how are you feeling?
WASSERMAN SHULTZ: You know, I have supported Joe Biden for president of the United States all the way back to when I was in college as a senior at the University of Florida in 1988. And so my heart is broken today. But I am so full of pride in his patriotism, in his clarity, his passion and commitment to the success of our country and the lives of the American people. And I'm proud of all we accomplished under his leadership. He is truly one of the...
KELLY: You said his patriotism is..
WASSERMAN SHULTZ: Sorry.
KELLY: Yeah, forgive me for jumping in. You said his patriotism - do you see this as his putting country above self?
WASSERMAN SHULTZ: Absolutely. President Biden, with his action today, even though I know he fervently believed that he would be able to continue and would help our party and our country continue the legacy of his historic presidency, he decided clearly that anything that risked possibility of Donald Trump, a 34-count convicted felon and adjudicated rapist who has committed to seek revenge on his political enemies and, you know, overturn democracy, once again - that anything that risked that was too great a risk.
KELLY: So let's turn to what happens now. I saw today you were saying you have total faith in Vice President Kamala Harris. Is that an official endorsement?
WASSERMAN SHULTZ: It is. Yes. I wholeheartedly and fully endorse Vice President Harris for the nomination of the Democratic Party for president of the United States. She would be a historic figure in her own right and has helped make sure that we could cement the legacy of the Biden/Harris administration, which has easily been one of the most accomplished presidential administrations of our lifetime.
KELLY: Congresswoman, how do you answer concerns, which I'm sure you've heard, about Democrats essentially anointing a new nominee instead of letting American voters pick the nominee. American voters voted in primaries, and they chose Joe Biden.
WASSERMAN SHULTZ: Well, this was the president's decision, and he has decided to step aside and pass the torch to Vice President Harris. She and he together earned those 14 million votes. She is the only one who has been the beneficiary of those 14 million votes and is the natural successor as a nominee, and she will certainly earn the vote when she goes before whatever the process is that the Democratic National Committee decides to establish.
KELLY: (Laughter) That's what I was just about to ask you. What is the process? What are the rules? What the heck happens now or at least between now and the convention, which we'll just circle on our calendar, starts August 19?
WASSERMAN SHULTZ: Well, I'm certainly hopeful that the Democratic National Committee will establish a process that ensures that the rules are structured for the delegates of the convention, and there are several different kinds of delegates - will shift their votes with President Biden releasing his delegates and releasing them to - in support of Vice President Harris. That transition and the votes that are cast will be in support of her. And you've seen over the course of the last couple of hours that the names that have been tossed around, you know, for some kind of really inappropriate mini primary, so-called mini primary, have begun to endorse Vice President Harris. (Inaudible) endorsed Vice President Harris. Gretchen Whitmer said that she's not going to run. So this is our party unifying around the Biden/Harris administration and unifying against the possibility of the toxic stew of Trumpism returning to the White House.
KELLY: Are there any legal hurdles, other issues that Vice President Harris and those now supporting her need to keep in mind in these next few weeks?
WASSERMAN SHULTZ: Well, you know, we have only to listen to Speaker Johnson, who certainly has not only encouraged but said that there would likely be legal challenges. Former President Trump put his stooges on judicial benches all over the country. And I would expect that they will try to challenge the replacement of our nominee. I trust that they will be unsuccessful, but we have a great legal team that represents the Democratic Party. And I'm confident that those challenges will be unsuccessful.
KELLY: You know, one argument against Biden dropping out had been that no other Democrats were polling super well against Donald Trump either, including Kamala Harris. Where does this leave your party on the issue - the big issue of electability?
WASSERMAN SHULTZ: This is July. So, I mean, anyone that hangs their hat on polls in July is really making a mistake. Polls in the last few election cycles have been historically inaccurate. You know, just look at the predictions of how well the Republicans were supposed to do in '22. That didn't stack up - same in '18 when, you know, we won the majority back. I mean, this is a pathway that voters will guide us through, and voters will want to make sure that we have an administration led by Kamala Harris who will continue to fight and will reduce the cost of prescription drugs, will protect a woman's right to make her on reproductive choices, while Republicans are invested in Project 2025 that want to ban abortion across the country, that are setting out to avenge foes and bring them up in military tribunals. That's not the direction that the American people want to go, and they will choose Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party's nominee in November.
KELLY: Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, thank you so much. It's going to be quite a summer. Thank you.
WASSERMAN SHULTZ: It will be interesting to say the least. Thank you.
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