Last updated on September 25th, 2023 at 02:07 pm
After Hillary Clinton’s health scare at a Sept. 11 commemoration during last year’s campaign, former DNC chair Donna Brazile said she briefly considered replacing the Clinton-Kaine ticket with former Vice President Joe Biden and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, respectively.
According to a new Washington Post report, Brazile “seriously contemplated” the idea after video footage of Clinton nearly collapsing was plastered across the internet and cable news with less than two months to go before Election Day.
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In an explosive new memoir, Brazile details widespread dysfunction and dissension throughout the Democratic Party, including secret deliberations over using her powers as interim DNC chair to initiate the removal of Clinton and running mate Sen. Tim Kaine (Va.) from the ticket after Clinton’s Sept. 11, 2016, collapse in New York City.
Brazile writes that she considered a dozen combinations to replace the nominees and settled on Biden and Sen. Cory Booker (N.J.), the duo she felt most certain would win over enough working-class voters to defeat Republican Donald Trump. But then, she writes, “I thought of Hillary, and all the women in the country who were so proud of and excited about her. I could not do this to them.â€
The new revelation may seem like a bombshell, but the idea reportedly didn’t gain traction anywhere other than Brazile’s head. If it had, it likely would have been leaked during the campaign and could have instantly destroyed the Clinton campaign.
Instead, Clinton quickly revealed that she had been diagnosed with pneumonia and was trying to work through it, which turned out to be a bad idea, and the campaign went on as usual.
It should also be noted that the head of the DNC does not have unilateral authority to remove and replace a party nominee.
Brazile has been making a lot of news in recent days as she promotes her new memoir, but many of her revelations appear to be overblown, like the recent one in which she claims the Democratic primary was rigged in favor of Clinton and against Bernie Sanders.
However, a new memo published by NBC News revealed that the so-called agreement between Clinton and the DNC applied only to the general election campaign, not the primary.
The latest news that Brazile briefly considered nixing the Clinton-Kaine ticket is likely the same type of overhyped gossip being floated as a way to make headlines and drive up book sales.
But, hey, a Biden-Booker ticket may not be such a bad idea in 2020.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
