Ex-Obama chief strategist tells Democrats to 'be honest' about Biden's chances, need for more voter support

Former Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said Sunday that the Democratic Party should be "honest" about President Biden's chances at winning the race against former President Trump.

Plouffe is one of many Democratic strategists, campaign experts and media figures who have responded to calls for Biden to withdraw from the race after his debate performance. 

"Biden is at the lowest point right now, I think, in terms of his campaign, so you've got to think he can grow from here," Plouffe told former White House Press Secretary-turned MSNBC host Jen Psaki. 

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"Can Joe Biden overcome that?" Plouffe asked. "I think he can. But we should be honest about where we are, which is, without more voters saying, 'actually, I think he’s up for this,' we won't win."

"People who think, ‘oh, we'll just get somebody else and they’re going to walk to the White House,' that is complete B.S.," Plouffe said. "There are a bunch of landmines in that option as well." 

Plouffe listed disadvantages if Biden were to be replaced.

"It's kind of gross because it's not voters, it's delegates, but you'd basically be running a campaign," Plouffe said, explaining the possible process of Democratic politicians competing to replace Biden should he choose to drop out. 

"Maybe there would be debates, there certainly would be a lot of interviews on MSNBC, on podcasts, people traveling to states, meeting with delegates, smoky back rooms, so that's a downside. It's like insiders picking the new person."

"There maybe is an upside," he said. "We know a lot of Americans, including a lot of Democrats, would like another choice so that provides, I think, some energy. It's a different race for Donald Trump to win and run, I think, much harder." 

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Plouffe compared Biden's campaign to the one he ran in 2012 against Sen. Mitt Romney. Despite polling that found Obama was tied with or potentially trailing Romney in the 2012 campaign, Plouffe said the battleground states were the key deciding factor in that election. 

"We knew, reliably, we had a small advantage in the battleground states," he said. "That's where the race is right now."