The White House made a huge mistake with Vice President Kamala Harris as Democrats struggle to find an alternative to President Joe Biden after his dismal debate performance.
Several Democrats — including Rep. James Clyburn, of South Carolina, and Sen. Laphonza Butler, of California — have suggested that the 59-year-old vice president would be best suited to run against Trump in the general election if Biden agrees to step down.
Tim Ryan, a former Ohio congressman, has even called on the 81-year-old commander in chief to “rip off the Band-Aid” and promote Harris immediately.
But in the four years since Biden took office, his administration has done precious little to promote Harris and properly prepare her to lead the United States. according to The Atlantic.
That failure came despite the president’s promise to make way for a new generation of Democratic leaders.
Biden administration has reportedly failed to prepare Vice President Kamala Harris to lead the country
Biden had pledged in 2020 to step aside for a younger Democrat, praising his then-running mate as “a fearless fighter for the little guy, and one of the finest public servants in the country”
When he campaigned for president in March 2020, Biden stood alongside then-Senator Harris, as well as Sen. Cory Booker and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, praising the three as the next generation of Democrats.
“Look, I see myself as a bridge, and not as anything else,” he said.
“There’s a whole generation of leaders that you saw standing behind me. They are the future of this country.”
A few months later, he repeated that message during an online fundraiser: ‘I see myself as a candidate for the transition.
“You’ve got to get more people on the bench who are ready to play — ‘Put me on the bench, I’m ready to play,’” Biden said at the time. according to the New York Times.
“Well, there are many people who want to play, women and men.”
When he announced Harris as his running mate in August 2020, Biden praised the then-senator as “a fearless fighter for the common man and one of the nation’s finest public servants.”
Biden’s team then reportedly refused to answer questions about whether Harris was prepared to lead the country
But Biden’s team refused to answer questions about whether Harris was prepared to take on the presidency, not because they doubted her ability to lead the country, but because they chafed at the suggestion that there would come a time when she would have to, The Atlantic reported.
Any questions on the subject were subsequently dismissed as a distraction, prompted by a Republican argument that a vote for Biden was in effect a vote for President Harris.
Even after Biden took office, Biden’s team appeared to continue to keep Harris at arm’s length.
Administration officials have since apparently admitted they should have done more to promote Harris compared to Biden’s first term
One official said it is “always difficult” to promote your vice president, despite the close relationship Biden had with former President Barack Obama.
When former Chief of Staff Ron Klain was asked last year whether the administration had done enough to promote it as a governing partner, Klain simply said that it’s “always difficult” to promote your vice president — even though Biden himself had insisted on being involved in discussions when he was vice president under former President Obama.
“Of course I wish you could do more, and you should,” he told the Atlantic.
His successor, Jeff Zients, also seemed to have difficulty with this question.
He was asked if he could remember a time when the president “noticeably leaned on Harris for direction.”
Zients responded that Harris was essential in making “equality” part of the government’s COVID response, but he couldn’t recall another example.
Early in Biden’s first term, Harris was tapped to lead the administration’s immigration response
Some Democrats now argue that the Biden administration has dashed any hopes of a Harris presidency.
Her first year in office was marked by mass staff layoffs. She was quickly appointed to lead the administration’s efforts to identify the root causes of illegal immigration and stem the flow of migrants crossing the southern border.
“You send her to do immigration, but then you don’t want to do anything with it,” Tim Ryan told the Atlantic.
As a result, he said, Democrats have “completely lost” the issue to Republicans.
“And you certainly can’t blame her for that.”
Still, Harris has gained some popularity among abortion activists after she traveled the country speaking on the topic in the run-up to the 2022 midterm elections.
Since Biden’s appearance on the CNN debate on June 27, Harris has also fiercely defended the president, seeking to assuage donor concerns about the viability of his campaign.
“She’s been there since the beginning of the campaign, on the front lines,” a former adviser told The Atlantic.
“There has been more attention, and there will be more attention, because of what happened with his performance.”
Biden has faced calls to withdraw from the presidential race since his disastrous performance at the CNN debate on June 27
The president repeatedly paused mid-sentence during the debate and stood with his mouth open as Trump spoke.
When the conversation ended, Biden was seen walking around his podium, with First Lady Jill Biden eventually leading him off the stage.
The president later attributed his performance at the debate to “exhaustion” and “being sick,” even claiming he should have taken a COVID test before the debate.
But at least 10 Democrats have since called on Biden to drop out of the race. Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro wrote Tuesday: “President Biden must follow through on his promise to build a bridge to the next generation of leaders and allow a stronger Democratic nominee to emerge to prevent a disastrous second Trump term.”
‘Time is running out,’ He wrote.
Many Democrats have since suggested that Harris should be the Democratic nominee
Many Democrats, who held a crisis call on Sunday afternoon, now appear to agree that Harris should be the “stronger Democratic candidate.”
Republicans have even begun preparing for a possible confrontation between Harris and Trump in November.
The House Republican campaign arm launched a digital ad Wednesday targeting the vice president as Republicans attempt to retain control of the House and expand their slim majority this fall.
The ad accuses Harris of being an “enabler in chief,” with clips of her praising Biden.
The vice president is also accused of being the “architect of the border crisis,” as he is a key government official tasked with resolving the border issue.
The digital spot ends with, “Vote Republican. Stop Kamala.”
Biden has so far refused to drop out of the presidential race. It is believed that his first wife, First Lady Jill Biden, is encouraging him to enter
But so far, Biden has refused to step down as the Democratic candidate.
“I’m staying in the race,” he insisted in a fiery speech in Madison, Wisconsin on Friday.
It is believed that his wife, First Lady Jill Biden, is the one encouraging him to stay in the race – with a source close to the First Family saying she ‘… [the] ‘ultimate influence’ on her husband.
However, Anthony Fowler, a professor at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy, has suggested that the president’s team may not believe there is a viable alternative to defeating former President Donald Trump in the general election.
“If Biden had confidence in Kamala’s ability to win, he might have stepped aside to support her,” Fowler said explained to Axios.
He added: “If voters believed that Joe Biden was the best person for the job, and they were excited about voting for him, they would still be happy to vote for him regardless of whether he said in 2020 that he would likely only be president for one term or that he would just be a temporary bridge.
“Unfortunately, there aren’t many voters right now who are excited about voting for Biden.”