Andrew Yang to Dems: Replace Pres. Biden now to save House, democracy

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- The U.S. political system is in turmoil less than four months before the 2024 presidential election. President Joe Biden is fighting off calls in his own party for him to step aside after a disastrous debate performance that affirmed what polls indicate is his greatest weakness as a candidate: his age. Former President Donald Trump is riding a wave of sympathy after a registered Republican shot him in what the FBI calls an assassination attempt. The Republican National Convention is unfolding this week in Milwaukee with that as a backdrop.

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Someone who is watching with worried eyes is former Democratic presidential candidate and co-founder of the Forward Party Andrew Yang. For nearly a year now, Yang has been calling on President Biden to step aside in favor of a stronger Democratic candidate, a message that was roundly ignored and criticized. He's in the Bay Area this week and stopped at the ABC7 News studio to talk with anchor Kristen Sze.

Yang sees a dire situation for Democrats and democracy. He says the assassination attempt has further widened Trump's lead over Biden.

"There is a natural rally around the flag type of impulse when you have an event like this. I've been deeply saddened, as I'm sure most Americans have been that this does signal a rise in an era of political violence here in the U.S. which has been building for a long time" said Yang.

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He believes Trump is an "accelerant to the deterioration of many of our institutions" and says Democrats should put forth their strongest candidate to run against the former president. It's a message he's repeated on his podcast, blog and in two separate interviews with ABC7 News in the past year.

"The truth came out in the debate stage, which I'm going to suggest is seven months later than you want it to. There was a Democratic primary, and you could have had a very different lay of the land," said Yang.

Still, Yang believes it's not too late for Democrats to try to improve their odds with an "upgrade from Biden," and urges voters to sign a petition organized by a coalition of similarly minded Democrats. Yang points out while the math currently looks bleak for the White House, a stronger top of the ticket can help Democrats win more House seats, which would be a critical check on a Republican president.

That's the short term. For the long-term, to resolve increasing polarization and the dangers it poses to democracy, Yang says America needs a viable third party, one that is more "up the middle," such as the Forward Party he co-founded after leaving the Democratic party. Its reception has been mixed; some call it innovative, while others say it'll split votes and benefit Republicans. But Yang is adamant that "this two-sided machine isn't working... this blue versus red has led us to this point, and it's not going to lead us where we want to go."