WASHINGTON — Donna Brazile, the former interim head of the Democratic National Committee, says in a new book that she considered replacing Hillary Clinton as the party’s 2016 nominee with Vice President Joe Biden after Clinton suffered a fainting spell, according to an account published Saturday by The Washington Post.
WASHINGTON — Donna Brazile, the former interim head of the Democratic National Committee, says in a new book that she considered replacing Hillary Clinton as the party’s 2016 nominee with Vice President Joe Biden after Clinton suffered a fainting spell, according to an account published Saturday by The Washington Post.
In her book, Brazile writes of her frequent frustrations with the Clinton campaign, saying she would tell its leaders that she could invoke powers from the DNC charter to oversee the process of replacing a nominee if she were to become disabled, something that has never happened in the modern era of presidential elections.
The Post quotes Brazile as writing, “Again and again I thought about Joe Biden,” adding that “no matter my doubts and my fears about the election and Hillary as a candidate, I could not make good on that threat to replace her.” The Post reported that Brazile had considered replacing Clinton after she briefly collapsed in New York City following a Sept. 11 commemoration ceremony.
But the rules do not give that power solely to the chairwoman of the party. That decision is ultimately made by the DNC after consultation with Democratic leaders in Congress and Democratic governors.
Those who worked on the Clinton campaign sharply criticized Brazile, questioning both the accuracy of her assertions and the motive behind them.
“Her depiction of Brooklyn as an antiseptic, soulless operation is completely divorced from reality, and I question why she would be presenting such a misportrayal,” said Brian Fallon, Clinton’s campaign spokesman, referring to the campaign’s headquarters.
Fallon also said Brazile vastly overstated her ability to unilaterally change the party nominee. “It’s head-scratching to think that she would have entertained undermining the democratic process,” Fallon said.
On Saturday evening, a group of almost 100 Clinton campaign staffers, including Fallon, echoed his sentiments.
“We were shocked to learn the news that Donna Brazile actively considered overturning the will of the Democratic voters by attempting to replace Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine as the Democratic presidential and vice-presidential nominees,” the statement said. “It is particularly troubling and puzzling that she would seemingly buy into false Russian-fueled propaganda, spread by both the Russians and our opponent, about our candidate’s health.”
Contacted Saturday, Brazile said she could not talk about the contents of the book because of a nondisclosure agreement with her publisher.
Brazile’s book, which also disclosed an unusual agreement that gave Clinton’s campaign a measure of control over DNC operations a year before she was nominated, says she was concerned about the faltering Clinton campaign, which, she wrote, had taken on “the odor of failure,” The Post reported.