Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday doubled her support for President Biden amid calls for him to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race following his poor debate performance last week against former President Trump.
“Look, Joe Biden is our nominee. We beat Trump once and we will beat him. Period,” said Harris in an interview with CBS News.
When asked if she is ready to lead the country if it becomes unnecessary, Harris said: “I am proud to be Joe Biden’s running mate. Thanks.”
Harris’ comments were in response to a question about Rep. Lloyd Doggett’s (D-Texas) public call for Biden to remove Biden from the 2024 race. Doggett so far is the only House Democrat to make a public appeal to the president.
Biden, 81, faced Trump, 78, last week in the first debate of the 2024 general election, during which the president appeared to stumble over his words and lose his train of thought. The incumbent’s voice was hoarse during much of the 90-minute debate, while the frequency of his presentations was interrupted and he showed difficulty organizing his ideas.
His poor performance provoked immediate panic among some members of the Democratic Party about his prospects of defeating Trump in November and effectively leading the nation for another four years.
Harris’ name has been floated as a potential replacement for Biden if he were to resign, and a CNN poll published Tuesday found her closer to Trump than Biden.
Facing calls from within his own party to step aside in the 2024 elections, the president and his re-election campaign have stated that they do not intend to give up the race.
Biden has already won the primaries, winning the majority of delegates, and therefore cannot simply be ousted at the Democratic National Convention in August. This makes the decision ultimately up to him.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
