Andrew Yang Tells Bill Maher Biden Needs To Step Aside For Sake of ‘Civilization’: ‘Then We Would All Be Loving On Joe!’
Former presidential candidate Andrew Yang told Comic and pundit Bill Maher that President Joe Biden should step aside and let people like Governors Gretchen Whitmer and J.B. Pritzker and Gavin Newsom slug it out for the Democratic nomination.
On Friday night’s edition of HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher, the host talked with guests Yang and Democratic Michigan Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin. As the trio discussed political polarization, Yang brought up the idea of a Democratic primary to settle Democratic “succession” now rather than at a “riskier” time in the future:
ANDREW YANG: We have a lot of people at various stages of public office who are putting out bills and policies that are more for the messaging and stoking the fires on social media than actually trying to get something passed. That’s what we need to do.
BILL MAHER: I feel like Biden this week is sort of pivoting to the center. I mean, he he said when he was campaigning that he would not drill ever, never in Alaska. And now he said he’s going to drill in Alaska.
ANDREW YANG: All right. It’s time to get a little controversial. I think it should be.
BILL MAHER: I was hoping you would come before the end of the show.
ANDREW YANG: I think that there should be a competitive primary in the Democratic Party. I think that Gretchen Whitmer in Michigan should run. I think that Gavin Newsom here in California should run. I think J.B. Pritzker, Illinois should run. Joe Biden said in 2020, “I am here to be a bridge to the next generation.” That is what he should be at this moment. And if he were to go down this road, he would be now this George Washington level statesman. He gets rid of Trump. He gets some great things done. And then he says it’s time to give it to the next generation. And then we would all be loving on Joe. Joe, please head this direction! If he doesn’t, if he does not, then we are punting on this entire succession challenge and it could emerge at a very inopportune time. In my opinion. There are very, very real risks going down the road that it seems we’re going down.
BILL MAHER: But you’re not even rooting for that party anymore. Right? You’re the forward party. You’re not the Democratic Party.
ANDREW YANG: I’m pro-civilization Bill. I’m pro-civilization and I’m anti-extremism. And people who think that the Forward Party is somehow going to enable extremists have not dug into anything we’ve actually done. We’ve endorsed good people like, frankly, Elissa, against folks who want to do want to do the democracy harm.
BILL MAHER: Pro civilization. So you’re for good things and against bad. I knew I could find the specifics in your plan if I tried hard enough! All right.
Maher had earlier zinged Yang repeatedly about his “Forward Party” platform being “a bunch of mush.”
Watch above via HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher.
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