Image Credit: screenshots/@vanderjames; Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images 
Actor James Van Der Beek took issue with the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) decision to suspend the 2024 presidential primary debates challenging Joe Biden.
“The Democratic National Committee is saying there will not be a debate to decide the nominee for president,” the “Dawson’s Creek” star said this week in a TikTok video.
James Van Der Beek
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“Are you fucking kidding me? There’s no debate over an 80-year-old man who, if he lives, will be oldest sitting president in the history of the country? And if he doesn’t live, has a vice president whose approval rating is worse than his?”
“This guy has obviously declining mental faculties,” Van Der Beek continued. “You’re putting him up in front of a podium with flashcards telling him who to call on and what the questions are going to be.”
“What about the will of the people? If we don’t have a debate, this is not a democracy by the people, this is a democracy by THEM. Who? Big banks? Big business? Big tech, big pharma, big government, big whatever. What the hell?”
“How do we have a government, a democracy, if we’re letting a small little back room of people make all of the important decisions for us? That’s not a democracy.”
The “Varsity Blues” star pointed out that the only way to put disagreements about candidates to rest is to hold a primary debate.
“I could be wrong about all this. I could be wrong about the guy being fit for the job. I could be wrong about the other people being right, being legitimate, being crazy.”
“You know what would solve that? A debate,” he added.
The DNC’s refusal to schedule primary debates has drawn criticism from the party’s base and other 2024 Democrat candidates.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who is already at 20% in the primary polls, condemned the lack of DNC debates, especially against a candidate most Democrats are concerned about.
“There’s too many Americans who already think that the whole system is rigged against them. And this is confirmation of that. And I think that’s troubling,” Kennedy told Breitbart.
Marianne Williamson, an environmental lawyer and Democrat candidate, said she was “disappointed certainly.”
“I believe that the political party should stay out of the issue until the primary voters have weighed in, and then whoever wins the primaries, that’s who the DNC, or the RNC for that matter, should support,” Williamson said.
Nina Turner, a former state senator from Ohio and co-chair of Bernie Sanders’ 2020 campaign, called the lack of debates “undemocratic.”
The DNC refusing to hold a single primary debate is undemocratic and robs the voters of choice.
No one who feels confident in their record and/or ideas would hesitate to stand on them.
The DNC should hold debates.
This is supposed to be a democratic process.
— Nina Turner (@ninaturner) April 24, 2023
Democrats are clearly angry the party is already coronating Joe Biden as the party’s champion despite polls showing deep concerns over his obvious cognitive decline, advanced age, and propensity for gaffes.