Biden tells DNC: “I love my job, but I love my country more”

Published

August 19, 2024 at 5:19 p.m. EDT

Before the start of the DNC All in all Moderator Ailsa Chang spoke to Anita Dunn, a former adviser to President Joe Biden, in Chicago.

Dunn said Kamala Harris must “make clear what the difference is” between her economic program and Trump’s.

“She has to convince voters that she is the right leader to move the economy forward in a way that grows the middle class,” she said.

Dunn was one of the architects of Biden's 2020 and 2024 campaigns. Earlier this month, she resigned from her post as senior White House adviser to join Future Forward, a political action committee behind the Harris campaign.

Here is what else she said:

When asked if she regretted advising Biden to hold an earlier presidential debate than usual:

You know, in a campaign, you make decisions based on the information you have at the time. And the reality is we had the debate. It didn't go well. The president felt he could continue as a candidate. He made his strongest case for that and ultimately decided that it was in the best interest of his party and the best interest of the nation to step down and support Vice President Harris. And what I'm focused on, what he's focused on, and I think what this party is focused on this week, is to elect her and present their case to the American public.

On whether President Biden’s early support for Harris hurts her chances of being seen as a candidate of “change”:

It is still a democratic process and people could have chosen others. But the reality is that there was no one as qualified – as ready – to be president as she was. That is why [Biden] nominated her for vice president in 2020, and that's why he endorsed her in 2024. As we've seen over the last 29 days, she's clearly going to make her own case for her candidacy… So I don't think anyone believes she's simply running as his political heir.

On the question of whether the Harris campaign team was too slow to put forward concrete policy proposals:

You know, she didn't have a lot of time to give specifics. She became a candidate and she had to get the nomination wrapped up. She had to pick a vice president. And she's going to this convention. And that's a very compressed campaign for something that normally takes several months… I think you'll hear more from her this week at the convention, and you'll hear more after the convention.

Here's how Dunn feels after switching from advising President Biden to supporting Harris' election:

I was there when the President made the decision to nominate her for Vice President and was part of an administration where she was a tremendous Vice President and a great partner to him and a leader in her own right. So I've always been a fan of Kamala Harris. And I think it's exciting and invigorating for this party. And you know, we're in Chicago and it feels like we're making history out here again.