Congresswoman Cori Bush (D-MO) wrapped up and interview after a reporter asked whether she would like to see President Joe Biden run for a second term in the White House. “I don’t want to answer that question,” she repeated several times.
A video clip from the interview — showing just how less-than-eager she was to answer that particular question — was posted on Twitter by Mark Maxwell, political editor of the local St. Louis NBC affiliate KSDK.
WATCH:
Does Congresswoman Cori Bush want to see Joe Biden run for a second term?
An aide interjects.
“I don’t want to answer that question,” she says, adding, “He’s the President. He has the right to run for a second term.”
She had another event scheduled 20 mins later across town. pic.twitter.com/4FEpGP1jVK
— Mark Maxwell (@MarkMaxwellTV) July 25, 2022
“Do you want to see Joe Biden run for a second term?” Maxwell asked Bush directly, after which one of the congresswoman’s aides immediately interrupted, saying, “She’s got to go.”
“I … you know …” Bush waffled.
“It’s an easy question,” Maxwell pressed. “You know, it’s not going to take long. Do you want to see Joe Biden run …”
“I don’t want to answer that question because we have not — that’s not — yeah, I don’t want to answer that question,” Bush repeated, shaking her head.
“Okay,” Maxwell replied.
“I mean, he’s the president, he has the right to run for a second term, absolutely,” Bush continued, adding, “But I don’t — I don’t wanna — I’d rather you not do that, answer the question.”
The aide interrupted again, reminding Bush that she had two minutes to get in the car to head to another event.
“I gotta get to the other thing,” she said, effectively ending the interview.
Missouri State Senator Steve Roberts (D) has mounted a primary challenge against Bush — accusing her of being too far to the left — and he capitalized on her unwillingness to answer the question directly.
“I support the president. Full stop,” Roberts said. “I’m curious to know who Rep. Bush intends on supporting.”
Biden has faced a number of rumors in recent weeks suggesting that the Democratic Party is not united in a desire to support him in a second run at the White House.
According to a mid-July Quinnipiac poll, a majority of Democrats (54%) — and some 71% of Americans across the board — would prefer to see a candidate other than Biden at the top of the 2024 ticket.
The same poll showed that a majority of Americans (64%) did not want to see former President Donald Trump run again in 2024 either — although he fared much better with his own party, where 69% said they would like to see him run again and just 27% opposed the idea.