Former Mayor Bottoms Warns ‘Circular Firing Squad’ Won’t Help Democrats Win

Bottoms, who joined the Biden campaign as a senior adviser last month ahead of the first presidential debate, said there is popular support for the president to continue his re-election campaign.

“Overwhelmingly, what I hear from people is that they want to win and that Joe Biden is our nominee, which means they want Joe Biden to win,” she said.

Biden’s poor performance in the debate was not lost on the former mayor, but Bottoms urged the public to examine his long record rather than focus on his recent media appearances.

She highlighted what Biden has done as president, such as capping insulin costs for Americans on Medicare at $35 a month and his work on student loan debt relief.

“I’ve seen tremendous work come out of this White House, and I truly believe that he will always do what’s best for this country,” Bottoms said. “I believe that as long as he continues to make his case directly to the American people, as long as we stay out of the comments section and speak directly to voters, we will be victorious again in Georgia and in this country.”

She noted: “He has made it clear: he is not going to withdraw from the race. So no one is going to force him to give up.”

She said it would be undemocratic not to have discussions about Biden, “but we are now a circular firing squad, and that does not help us move toward victory.”

Bottoms said the party needs to focus on Donald Trump’s shortcomings during his presidency and the “chaos” his administration has caused.

“I can’t stress enough how difficult it was to lead without a sane leader in the White House,” Bottoms said. “We have Donald Trump indicted, convicted of multiple felonies, saying things that still make me shake my head and hold it in disgust.”

Later, state Sen. Jason Anavitarte, R-Dallas, joined the show to weigh in on Trump’s potential running mates and offer his thoughts on what’s at stake in the presidential election just days before the Republican convention in Milwaukee.

Wednesday in “Politically Georgia”: Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter Tamar Hallerman joins the show to discuss where Georgia Democratic delegates stand on keeping Biden on the ticket, and AJC education reporter Martha Dalton will discuss religion in schools.