Kamala Harris is best 'alternative' to Biden, but America is 'sexist and racist': Jen Psaki

Jen Psaki participates in the session "Women’s Rights are Human Rights: How to Provide Abortion Care in a Post-Dobbs World" during the Clinton Global Initiative September 2023 Meeting at New York Hilton Midtown on September 19, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images for Clinton Global Initiative)

MSNBC host and former White House press secretary Jen Psaki floated Vice President Kamala Harris as the best "alternative" for Democrats if President Biden withdraws from the 2024 election.

Psaki appeared as a guest on "Pod Save America" this week to discuss the controversy facing her former boss Biden after his disastrous debate performance. Several Democratic lawmakers, megadonors and pundits have urged Biden to step aside amid his declining poll numbers against former President Trump. 

“There is a question out there that, again, I think campaigns are talking about, about the alternative and the alternative is very clearly in my view—there’s a lot of really amazing Democrats on the bench, but because of the timeline and everything, I think it is clearly Kamala Harris,” she said in a clip highlighted by Mediaite.

Asked by host Jon Lovett why the party has not already consolidated around Harris, Psaki said some Democrats are not "comfortable" with her.

“I don’t why there hasn’t been kind of an overwhelming ‘Kamala would be a great president and she would be a fierce, amazing campaigner,’ right? But that’s not typically the message. I’m observing what people are saying. It’s typically ‘don’t take it away from Kamala Harris if it’s open, that would be unfair,'” she said.

Psaki argued that Harris is a "fierce communicator" who could help the party on the abortion issue. But she suggested Harris may struggle to win some votes because "we live in a sexist and racist country." 

“It’s almost like public opinion hasn’t caught up with what she is doing out there and also we live in a country that is sexist and racist so there is that,” she said. “Not everybody at all, but there is a level of it that does impact elections.”