Like most of America, the events of this past weekend left me completely shaken up. My emotions ranged from anger and fear to anxiety and dread. But ultimately, once the dust settled and the hero images started to be disseminated, my emotions crystallized into one: determination. I came away with one overarching realization: As Americans we are all on the same team, and we all have largely the same agenda. We all want to live in a world with democratic norms, where no one is above the law, where women have the right to bodily autonomy, where weapons of war belong on the battlefield, not in our schools, where our environment and climate are protected, where healthcare is affordable and available to everyone, where people have the right to vote, where we take care of our allies and do not promote dictators, and where all people are created equal and we live in a world of equal opportunity. We are also on the team which will vigorously support any ticket that can defeat an antidemocratic, racist, wannabe autocratic, fascist felon.
Additionally, I believe we can (hopefully) agree that the Biden-Harris administration has been one of the most positively consequential administrations in generations. From the CHIPs Act to the Inflation Reduction Act, from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to the relief of unsustainable student debt, from navigating the nation through the pandemic to passage of the gun safety bill (entitled the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act), from record-setting stock markets to the lowest unemployment rates in decades, from the support of our allies in Ukraine and the member states of NATO, to the rejoining of the Paris Accords, by almost any measure, this administration has been an unparalleled success. While I largely fault the incredibly lackluster communication efforts from the White House, and many of those who are responsible for the current Biden-Harris campaign with the failure to make the American public fully aware of these incredible successes, that is for another op-ed piece.
But, as the patriotic pageantry and J.D. Vance hoopla pour out of the Republican convention, we shouldn’t forget to return to the issue at hand: What combination of Democratic candidates for president and vice president has the best chance of winning in 2024? Should Joe Biden step down? What does that process look like and how would he be replaced? We can all agree on one thing: We need to beat Trump, and more than anything else, we need a Democratic ticket that can win in November.
Everyone has an opinion on this and that has created polarization and unrest among Democrats. Needless to say, there are as many questions as there are answers.
But now that I have set the table, the area where some of us differ is around the issue of what Democratic candidates can successfully defeat the existential threat of a second Trump term. So, let’s make sure that we do not operate out of fear or emotion in advocating for one position or another. Let’s be thoughtful, deliberate and purposeful, and let us also act with all due haste so that the decision is a calculated one, rather than one that is made for us simply by the passage of time. But when this decision is made, we must vigorously support it.
So, what is the path forward and what are our friends and colleagues thinking? On one hand, there are many Democratic supporters and donors who believe that highlighting the president’s physical and cognitive challenges and advocating to remove him from the ticket is blasphemy, tantamount to supporting Trump. Many believe in the electoral status quo, and that we should stay the course. These supporters are standing by the assessment that while Biden’s debate performance lacked clarity and his communications skills are not particularly good, that doesn’t mean he’s falling apart. One politico texted, “The fact that he’s not a great communicator doesn’t mean he isn’t a great president, and there is no alternative in the face of a fascist threat.” Another big L.A. Democrat said to me, “There have been many bad debates, including by [former President Barack] Obama. He did not quit, nor should Biden.” While I am not necessarily advocating for Biden to withdraw, what I do believe is that ignoring what we have all seen and heard is foolhardy, and asking those who speak up on this topic to remain silent is un-American. George Orwell wrote in his novel 1984, “The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.” Although we may differ as to the best course of action, gaslighting or burying one’s head in the sand cannot be part of that calculus.
Some believe that even if another ticket would yield a better chance of success in November, there is not enough time to change course. However, the amount of earned media, such as news coverage, of that ticket will be so great, likely many hundreds of millions of dollars in value, and the electorate will be well-informed about the pros and cons of the candidates in very, very short order.
There are many people who are outraged by George Clooney’s public statement. Let’s be clear, Mr. Clooney has been one of the biggest supporters of this administration, and he has used his celebrity to that end. For him to go public in the way he did, speaks volumes, particularly because he has spent considerable time with the president, most recently at a large fundraiser he co-hosted. He stated that the same deficiencies we all witnessed at the debate were evident when he spent one-on-one time with the president. It takes courage to stand up for what you believe in, and I applaud Mr. Clooney for doing so.
On the other end of the spectrum, there are many Democratic supporters who are ready to jump ship without thoroughly and thoughtfully playing out the chess game of how a change in candidates could effectively work and doing so while thinking three or four steps ahead. There are a multitude of legal, structural, process, economic and other considerations that must very quickly be evaluated to ensure the practicality of changing horses in a way that enhances the ability for a Democratic victory in 2024. It is not as simple as Biden picking a replacement, as he does not have that power. The delegates will need to decide whom to support, and the DNC will have to develop a process to get there and that’s the messy part. James Carville advocated a series of debates amongst preselected candidates to narrow the field to a presidential and vice-presidential candidate. There are important and legitimate concerns about how this would unfold. Additionally, making such a change will inevitably result in a fair amount of chaos. Hermann Hesse wrote, “Chaos demands to be recognized and experienced before letting itself be converted into a new order.” Sometimes chaos can bring about change and sometimes change can be a good thing.
A very highly regarded D.C.-based politico recently shared this point of view with me, that “party politics is not Hollywood. It’s not performative; it’s coalitional. It’s about policy, and executive, legislative and foreign affairs performance. Presidents are not ‘the talent’ who can be replaced with the snap of a finger for ratings or box office.” While I believe there is some merit to this argument, we also must understand that in today’s political world form can be as or more important than substance, and I hope that those making these decisions recognize that. Trump certainly did.
We are all now well-aware of the tragic and inexcusable actions that took place over the weekend. I have been listening to many Democratic supporters and donors share their reactions, particularly how they relate to the presidential election. Some believe it will elevate Trump as a martyr, ensuring his victory. Interestingly, a common reaction of many supporters, young and old, immediately upon hearing the news of the assassination attempt was that this was a false flag operation, it was staged, it was a con job designed to show how resilient he was, how virile; that he will “never surrender,” in his words. The cynicism is, of course, rooted in Trump’s being a pathological liar and a charlatan, a flim-flam man. Do I think this has affected anyone’s decision about Biden stepping aside? Not really. But I know that people were holding their breath to see how he would respond and feeling a sense of urgency to resolve this one way or the other.
After the decision of Judge Aileen Cannon to dismiss Trump’s classified documents trial, it’s just more grist for the mill that says he is unstoppable. But he isn’t! We can and must stop him at the ballot box! Despite the various beliefs and convictions on the best path forward, one thing is universal, when the dust settles on the issue of who our candidate will be, whether they are consistent with each of our personal points of view or not, we must all come together and support that nominee in every way we individually and collectively are able. Politics is a profession of compromise, and we don’t always get everything we want in every situation. When people ask me what they should do, I say the following: VOTE! And that goes for the down-ballot races as well. It is not hyperbolic to suggest that our future, the future of our children, of this nation and our democracy are at stake. Unity must be our north star.
Ellen Goldsmith-Vein is the founder and CEO of management/production company The Gotham Group and has produced tentpoles from The Maze Runner franchise to Disney+’s Percy Jackson and is at work on the upcoming Bruce Springsteen film Deliver Me From Nowhere. She has served on the National Finance Committees for Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris and Cory Booker and was recently appointed by Mayor Karen Bass to chair the Entertainment Industry Task Force for Los Angeles.
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