‘It’s All a Numbers Game’: MSNBC Hosts Discuss What It Would Take to Replace Biden At the Convention

MSNBC’s post-debate coverage included a quick breakdown of exactly how the Democratic Party could nominate someone other than President Joe Biden during their convention this summer.

Anchor Rachel Maddow poured cold water on the idea first, saying, “That’s a fantasy saying that’s, you know, you either need to right the ship or do the thing that’s not going to happen, which is to replace them on the ticket. I mean, I, I don’t think that’s an option, but the fact that people are talking about it, if it’s not an option, only seeks to further weaken the perception, weaken the standing of President Biden. The question is whether you’re hearing that it is an option.”

“I mean, I spoke to an election lawyer. It is legal. And the way it happens is Joe Biden releases his delegates ahead of the convention, and you can’t do it on the first vote,” shot back Nicolle Wallace, adding:

But I think on the second vote, they can go somewhere else. So it is legal. It is possible. And I think when people say it won’t happen is because they think Joe Biden would never do it for the reasons Joy already articulated. He’s the only person who beat Trump, and he believes, and he has some reason to believe this, that he’s the only one who can.

“And to amplify that. Someone actually sent me the rules. And so,” interjected Joy Reid as Wallace joked, “The rules are circulating!”

“And so people are and so and this is again, this is not a saying that this is going to happen. No one is saying it’s going to happen. It’s very unlikely. But just to note that the Republican convention has 110 unbound delegates, the Democratic Party has 771 unbound delegates. And that does not mean that those unbound delegates will do anything. There are 3000 delegates. It happened on the first ballot. It takes 1951 delegates to win. Yeah. I’m sorry, 1976 delegates to win. It’s all a numbers game,” Reid concluded.

Watch the clip above via MSNBC.