Revealed: Expert discloses what 'chaos' could ensue if Joe Biden exits presidential race
An expert has revealed what chaos could ensue if President Joe Biden, who's facing mounting calls to step aside, does just that.
Speaking with Erin Burnett's "OutFront" on Friday, Josh Putnam, a consultant who helps campaigns navigate delegate rules, said should he step aside, the key factor will be Biden's endorsement.
"If Biden is to step aside and endorse the vice president then that doesn't — it carries weight with the delegates, right? As your previous guest kind of mentioned, but, it's not a binding transfer of the delegates over to her."
Putnam maintained delegates get to decide how to cast their votes.
Read also: CNN panel chuckles over MAGA delegate wearing ear bandage in interview
"It really is a function of what the delegates decide," he said. "And they would be free to choose a candidate of their choice."
When asked what happens if Biden steps aside and doesn't endorse a candidate, such as Vice President Kamala Harris, Putnam said chaos could ensue.
"It's a little more chaotic potentially in that scenario, right? Without that signal from the president or some of the other elected officials and party leaders within the party. It would be a potential free-for-all and despite some of the more rosy sort of pictures that have been painted out there about what an open process would bring, it's not a guarantee that it would work out that way."
Opening up the process in a time-restricted period, he said, is a "really, really tall task."
A unifying force for delegates, he opined, could be coalescing around defeating former President Donald Trump in November.
"That would serve to potentially bring them together. Augur against that sort of chaos scenario. But again, all bets are off."