Ocasio-Cortez Warns of ‘Enormous Peril’ if Democrats Push Biden Aside

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York urged Democrats to reconsider their efforts to replace President Biden as their nominee, warning that members of her party were discounting his electoral strengths and hurtling ahead without a clear succession plan.

In a late-night livestream on Instagram, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez acknowledged that there were good-faith arguments for Mr. Biden to leave the ticket. But she said the ongoing debate was being clouded by wealthy donors to a “disturbing” degree and being distorted by social media, “groupthink” and anonymous leaks by her colleagues to the news media.

“People need to understand the reality and the gravity of what these people are proposing,” she said. “I’m not saying this is all a reason not to do it, but I do think people are talking about this without having two eyes wide open as to what this really means.”

She added bluntly: “I have not seen an alternative scenario that I feel will not set us up for enormous peril.”

The hourlong monologue, recorded as pressure intensified for Mr. Biden to step aside and as former President Donald J. Trump accepted the Republican nomination, underscored the unlikely role that the 34-year-old congresswoman and her progressive allies have taken in tumult. Once a Biden skeptic, she has emerged in recent years as a staunch defender of the 81-year-old president, even as he struggles to silence concerns about his age.

Ms. Ocasio-Cortez did not directly share her views on Vice President Kamala Harris, or if she believed that Ms. Harris stood a better chance at defeating Mr. Trump.

But she predicted that Democrats would only fracture further over who should replace Mr. Biden if he dropped out.

“If you think that there is consensus among the people