MSNBC host Jen Psaki on Sunday outlined the challenges Vice President Kamala Harris will face in replacing President Joe Biden as the Democratic presidential nominee following Biden's decision to drop out of the race.

Psaki appeared on the network to respond to the president's announcement that he would not run for reelection due to growing pressure on him as the party's nominee. MSNBC host Katy Tur asked Psaki about Biden's further announcement that he would endorse Harris as his running mate, noting that Biden's endorsement appeared to be a move to unite the party. (Related: Biden drops out of presidential race, endorses Kamala Harris as successor)

“First of all, I think to give the vice president credit, the president said he was confident he would win and be president. There's been some questions raised about that — not from the vice president directly, but from all of the speculation and discussion. I think that's important. I read that statement earlier and I wasn't sure whether to wait until the vice president spoke later this week, because it seemed like that would be a pretty long and painful gap for all involved,” Psaki said.

“Katie, that raises the question, because there are nearly 4,000 delegates at the Democratic National Convention. Even if President Biden had remained, they were not legally bound. The Democratic nominating process is not like that. There is a conscience clause, which has not been tested many times. But my understanding is that they could have decided,” Psaki continued. “They're all Biden delegates, so many probably didn't. But they could have decided to vote for someone else, who needed 300 delegates to be somewhat viable as a candidate. So I think the question now is, what is that process like?”

Psaki unveils potential plan to make Harris an alternative to Biden pic.twitter.com/hmWF8c9RMG

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Psaki added that the campaign has “certainly” discussed contingency plans, but that the Democratic National Committee's 4,000 delegates are not obligated to endorse Harris. The MSNBC host also questioned whether former presidents such as Barack Obama and Bill Clinton might also endorse Harris to create a “more united” image for the party.

“The Democratic National Committee and other committees have contingency plans in place within the government. [and] “The campaign has to do it no matter what the outcome is. They've certainly been discussing what this looks like. But just because the president endorses her doesn't mean all 4,000 people are going to be on her side, so it's going to take a lot of work behind the scenes,” Psaki said.

“The last thing I want to add is, I want people to understand, there are state ballots closing right before the Democratic National Convention, like in Virginia and Washington, so even if there are other candidates running, it will probably all be remote,” Psaki continued. “There won't be a fight on the floor, like in the White House episode, right? They might all support Harris, and that's fine. But the other candidates will be remote, because that's how the system is set up. And Democrats are not going to want to miss state ballots closing in Virginia and Washington and so on.”

Biden announced his decision to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race via a letter posted on X (formerly Twitter). The president wrote that while he intends to seek reelection, he believes it is “in the best interest of my party and my country for me to step down and focus on fulfilling the duties of my presidency for the remainder of my term.”

Democrats worried about Biden's low approval ratings and the president's mental health after his poor performance in a debate with former President Donald Trump began to worry. Over the past few weeks, more than a dozen Democratic congressmen and several Democratic senators have publicly spoken out against Biden.

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