President Biden’s poor debate performance has thrust Vice President Harris into the spotlight.
After Biden battled former President Trump, Harris went on air to defend her running mate’s record and ability to handle the job. But she was also instrumental in conversations among some Democrats about whether Biden should step aside, a move that would likely propel Harris to the top of the ticket in November.
That puts Harris in a tricky situation as she tries to reassure nervous Democrats about her chances in this year’s election while also positioning herself as a potential future leader of the party.
“To be honest, she seemed coherent and stated her views in a succinct and forceful way,” said one Democratic donor. “In the next 30 days it may be up to her to defend the case. People will be looking at her and testing her to see if she’s ready.”
One Democrat, who served in the Obama White House, said Harris “clearly has a purpose now to defend what they accomplished.”
The advisor cited comments from former President Obama, where he compared key political moments to a relay race.
“This is the transition moment where she and Biden have their hands on the baton, but clearly she will be needed to complete the race,” they said.
Biden faced Trump on the debate stage Thursday night in what turned out to be a disastrous performance. The president’s voice was hoarse for much of the 90 minutes, his speech was frequently interrupted and he sometimes lost his train of thought or had difficulty making his point of view clear.
Many Democrats were quick to criticize Biden’s performance and raised the idea that he should step aside before the party’s convention in August.
That left Harris defending her running mate on the same networks where anchors and pundits were discussing the prospect of Biden leaving the ticket.
“People can debate about questions of style, but ultimately this election and who is president of the United States has to be a question of substance,” said Harris, who admitted that Biden is off to a “slow start.”
The vice president was not questioned nor did she address the elephant in the room: that she would be the most likely candidate to replace Biden if he were to step aside.
The vice president’s team on Friday rejected any talk of a Democratic ticket that does not includebothBiden and Harris.
“Vice President Harris looks forward to serving a second term under President Joe Biden,” Harris spokesman Ernie Apreza said in a statement.
Biden’s campaign and White House officials also ended talks about the president dropping out of the race after Thursday’s debate. At a rally in North Carolina early Friday afternoon, Biden acknowledged his struggles in the debate but insisted he was up to the job.
But if he walks away, Democratic strategists will downplay the prospect of an open convention. They argued that Harris would be the logical choice, given his role as vice president, and warned about the risks of overriding a black woman who is already on the ticket for another candidate.
Harris launched her own much-touted presidential bid in 2019, and one of her signature moments came during a conversation with Biden on the bus debate stage. But she failed to translate initial enthusiasm about her candidacy into tangible support and struggled to connect with voters or develop a clear message. She finally dropped out before the Iowa caucuses.
When Biden was considering Harris as his running mate, some allies warned that Harris would be looking out for her own political interests while serving as vice president. Aware of this perception, Harris sought to be a loyal soldier.
“She knew it would be horrible if it was Kamala’s show,” said one Democratic strategist.
Harris had a rocky opening to her term as vice president, stumbling on her messaging on the issue of migration and struggling to drum up support for a voting rights package despite calling it a personal cause.
But she has hit her stride and become a valuable figure in the two years since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Harris has traveled the country to speak about reproductive rights, becoming the face of the White House and the campaign on an issue that Democrats hope can swing the election in their favor.
Harris also traveled internationally to meet with world leaders and discuss the conflict in Ukraine.
“During her blitz of post-debate interviews, Vice President Harris really showcased her strengths – she is a forceful communicator, an effective leader and a strong partner to President Biden,” said Rachel Palermo, who served as deputy director of communications and associate counsel to Harris. at the White House.
“She reminded voters that substance matters and that the contrast between Biden and Trump on the issues is clear,” Palermo added.
Polls on Harris’ chances in 2024, if she were elevated to the top of the ticket, have been sparse, but available data suggests she could have a similar situation to Biden.
One FebruaryNew York Times/Siena College Surveyfound Harris trailing Trump among likely voters in a hypothetical matchup by 6 percentage points, 42% to 48%. She fared only slightly worse than Biden, who at the time was 4 percentage points behind Trump in that poll, 44% to 48%.
The same poll found that 38% of likely voters had a favorable opinion of Harris, compared to 54% who had an unfavorable opinion of her.
Republicans used Biden’s age to attack the prospect of a Harris presidency. Nikki Haley made this central to her failed presidential bid by suggesting that a vote for Biden in 2024 was actually a vote for Harris.
The Trump campaign ran an ad during Thursday night’s debate that featured images of Biden stumbling down the stairs of Air Force One and appearing lost on stage before a narrator said Harris was “waiting behind him.”
Thursday’s debate fueled Republican speculation that Harris could end up in the Oval Office.
Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) said Friday he planned to introduce a resolution urging Harris to convene the Cabinet and declare Biden unfit to perform Oval Office duties.
Alex Gangitano contributed
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
