Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer enthusiastically endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the party’s nominee during a recent press conference. However, the rest of the room clearly did not share Schumer’s excitement toward Kamala. As the Democratic senator cued for applause, nobody else joined him in what amounted to his version of the “please clap” Jeb Busch incident in the 2016 race.
“We are here today to throw our support behind Vice President Kamala Harris!” Schumer emphatically stated. As he was the only one clapping after the statement, Schumer further stated, “I’m clapping, you don’t have to,” as a couple of people chuckled. The clip has since gone viral on social media, drawing various reactions.
Many social media users joked about the seeming lack of enthusiasm from those in the room with Sen. Schumer, with some comparing it to the infamous 2016 Jeb Busch moment where the Republican primary candidate asked his audience to clap at one of his statements. “D’s had their Jeb Bush moment,” one user wrote. “The enthusiasm is overwhelming,” another person joked sarcastically.
However, others defended Schumer, suggesting that since the announcement occurred at a press conference, reporters are not expected to clap. One person said, “Who expects reporters at a press conference to clap for that. If they cheered then we’d literally just call them biased or something. You wouldn’t clap for this. This aint no rally or campaign event.” Another person wrote, “It was a press conference — the press doesn’t clap. And he knows that: hence the laughter. Geesh.”
In the aftermath of Biden dropping out of the race there has been substantial speculation toward who should lead the Democratic Party. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-NY) recently released a video statement claiming that there is a lack of “consensus” among Democrats as to who should be the nominee. AOC also stated that many within the party want to start with a completely new ticket.
“And I’m gonna say what a lot of these folks aren’t saying. I’m just gonna say it if you think that there is consensus among the people who want Joe Biden to leave, that Kamala, that they will support Kamala Vice President Harris, you would be mistaken,” she said. “And I’m going to say that, because if they’re going to come out and say all their little things on background, off, off the record, but they’re not going to be fully honest, I’m going to be honest for them. I’m in these rooms. I see what they say in conversations. A lot of them are not just interested in removing the president. They are interested in removing the whole ticket,”
On Sunday, Biden posted on X, “My fellow Democrats, I have decided not to accept the nomination and to focus all my energies on my duties as President for the remainder of my term. My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. And it’s been the best decision I’ve made. Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this.”
Watch Chuck Schumer announce his support for Kamala Harris below:
Note: The featured image is a screenshot from the embedded video.
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