The creator of the NBC series “West Wing” drew plenty of attention with his suggestion for a “healing event” for Democrats before retracting his “pitch” hours later.
Ahead of President Joe Biden’s monumental decision to end his re-election bid, Aaron Sorkin suggested in an opinion piece Sunday that Senator Mitt Romney should be the Democratic Party’s nominee, contending the Utah Republican would be effective in stopping a “deranged” former President Donald Trump from winning in November.
But after drawing plenty of criticism for his “pitch to the writers’ room,” Sorkin backtracked and threw his support fully behind Vice President Kamala Harris.
I can’t pic.twitter.com/YaefxHeBQQ
— Yashar Ali (@yashar) July 21, 2024
“Nominating Mr. Romney would be putting our money where our mouth is: a clear and powerful demonstration that this election isn’t about what our elections are usually about, but about stopping a deranged man from taking power,” Sorkin wrote in the op-ed for The New York Times.
“Surely Mr Romney, who doesn’t have to be introduced to voters, would peel off enough Republican votes to win, probably by a lot,” he added of the former GOP presidential nominee who lost his bid to Barack Obama in 2012.
“The double haters would be turned into single haters and the Nikki Haley voters would have somewhere to go, Ms Haley having disqualified herself when she endorsed the leader of an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the government,” the screenwriter argued.
Sorkin wondered about his fictional president, “Jed Bartlet” in “West Wing,” who was played by Martin Sheen.
“What if Bartlet’s opponent had been a dangerous imbecile with an observable psychiatric disorder who related to his supporters on a fourth-grade level and treated the law as something for suckers and poor people? And was a hero to white supremacists?” he wondered.
I love Aaron Sorkin’s previous work and accomplishments, but I now feel he is out of touch with reality. He should retire and let a new generation of screenwriters take his place for the good of the country. pic.twitter.com/pIwOxYphaj
— Chris Anderson (@chrismanderson) July 21, 2024
“The problem in the real world is that there isn’t a Democrat who is polling significantly better than Mr. Biden. And quitting, as heroic as it may be in this case, doesn’t really put a lump in our throats,” Sorkin added.
But his argument was met with strong pushback, despite his acknowledgment that Romney’s views did not align with those of Democrats.
“Does Mr. Romney support abortion rights? No. Does he want to aggressively raise the minimum wage, bolster public education, strengthen unions, expand transgender rights, and enact progressive tax reform? Probably not. But is he a cartoon thug who did nothing but watch TV while the mob he assembled beat and used Tasers on police officers? No,” he wrote.
But arguing that the “choice” is “between Donald Trump and not-Trump,” Sorking contended that the “not-Trump candidate needs only one qualification: to win enough votes from a cross-section of Americans to close off the former president’s Electoral College path back to power.”
“The writing staff would tell me I was about to jump the shark, that this is a West Wing fantasy that would never, ever happen. But as [cast member] Bradley Whitford used to say, ‘Isn’t the biggest fantasy on television a mafia boss in therapy?’ The Democrats need to break the glass and this is a break-glass plan, but it’s more than that,” Sorkin added.
“It’s a grand gesture. A sacrifice. It would put a lump in our throats. But mostly, it would be the end of Donald Trump in presidential politics,” he wrote.
After Biden announced his withdrawal from the race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democrat nominee, Sorking issued a quick retraction.
“I take it all back. Harris for America!” he said Sunday, with “West Wing” star Joshua Malina sharing the statement on his X account.
— (((Jew))) (@JoshMalina) July 21, 2024
Variety reported that Sorkin’s publicist Jodie Oriol confirmed the statement is real.
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida. Powers also contributes to BizPac Review.
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