The White House's major Kamala Harris bungle as Democrats struggle to find a viable alternative to Biden, 81, amid calls for the ailing president to step down
The White House has made a major error with Vice President Kamala Harris as Democrats struggle to find an alternative for President Joe Biden following his abysmal 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 is best suited to take on Trump in the general election if Biden agrees to step down.
Tim Ryan, a former congressman from Ohio, has even called on the 81-year-old commander-in-chief to 'rip the Bandaid off' and promote Harris immediately.
But in the four years since Biden took office, his administration has done very little to promote Harris and properly prepare her to lead the United States, according to The Atlantic.
That failure comes despite the president vowing to stand aside for a new generation of Democratic leaders.
The Biden administration has reportedly failed to prepare Vice President Kamala Harris to lead the nation
Biden had vowed in 2020 to step aside for a younger Democrat, and touted his then-running mate as 'a fearless fighter for the little guy, and one of the country's finest public servants'
When he campaigned for president in March 2020, Biden stood with then-Sen. Harris, as well as Sen. Cory Booker and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, touting the three as the next generation of Democrats.
'Look, I view myself as a bridge, not as anything else,' he said.
'There's an entire generation of leaders you saw stand behind me. They are the future of this country.'
He reiterated that message a few months later at an online fundraiser, saying: 'I view myself as a transition candidate.
'You got to get more people on the bench that are ready to go in — "Put me in coach, I’m ready to play,"' Biden said a the time, according to the New York Times.
'Well, there’s a lot of people that are ready to play, women and men.'
Then when he announced that Harris would serve as his running mate in August 2020, Biden touted the then-senator as 'a fearless fighter for the little guy, and one of the country's finest public servants.'
The Biden team then reportedly refused to answer questions about whether Harris was prepared to lead the country
But Biden's team would refuse to answer questions about whether Harris was prepared to take over as president - not because they had doubts about her ability to lead the country, but because they resented the implication that there may come a time when she would have to, the Atlantic reports.
Any questions about the subject were then brushed off as distractions informed by a Republican talking point that a vote for Biden was actually a vote for a President Harris.
Even after taking office, Biden's team still seemed to keep Harris at arms length.
Administration officials have since apparently admitted that they should have done more to promote Harris over Biden's first term in office
One official said it is 'always hard' to promote one's vice president - despite the close relationship Biden had with former President Barack Obama
When former chief of staff Ron Klain was asked last year if the administration had done enough to showcase her as a governing partner, Klain simply said it it 'always hard' to promote one's vice president - even though Biden himself insisted on being involved in conversations when he served as vice president under former President Obama.
'Obviously, I wish, you know - you could always do more, and you should do more,' he told the Atlantic.
His successor, Jeff Zients, also seemed to struggle with the question.
He was asked if he could recall a time when the president had 'noticeably leaned on Harris for guidance.'
Zients replied that Harris was essential to making 'equity' part of the administration's COVID response, but could not recall another example.
Early on in Biden's first term, Harris was tapped to lead the administration's immigration response
Some Democrats now argue that the Biden administration has doomed any hope for a Harris presidency.
Her first year in office was marred by staffers quitting in droves, and she had been tapped early on to lead the administration's approach to determine the root-causes of illegal immigration and stop the influx of migrants crossing the southern border.
'You send her to do immigration, but then aren't willing to do anything on 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 across the country speaking about the issue in the lead-up to the 2022 midterms.
Since Biden's appearance at the CNN debate on June 27, Harris has also fiercely defended the president - trying to assuage donors' concerns about the viability of his campaign.
'She's been out there, on the front lines of the campaign since it launched,' a former adviser told the Atlantic.
'It got more focus, and will get more focus, because of what happened with his performance.'
Biden has been facing calls to withdraw from the presidential race since his disastrous performance at the CNN debate on June 27
The president repeatedly trailed off mid-sentence during the debate, and stood slack-jawed while Trump spoke.
Once it was finished, Biden was seen standing around his podium before First Lady Jill Biden eventually ushered him off the stage.
The president later blamed 'exhaustion' and being 'sick' for his performance at the debate - claiming he even had to take a COVID test before the debate.
But in the aftermath, at least 10 Democrats have called on Biden to withdraw from the race, with former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro writing on Tuesday: 'President Biden should fulfill his promise to be a bridge to the next generation of leadership - and allow a stronger Democrat candidate 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 instead
Many Democrats, who held a crisis call on Sunday afternoon, now seem to agree that Harris should be that 'stronger Democrat candidate.'
Republicans have even started to prepare for the possibility of a Harris-Trump matchup in November.
The Republican House campaign arm on Wednesday launched a digital ad zeroing in on the vice president as Republicans look to hold 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.
It also accuses the vice president of being the 'architect of the border crisis' as a leading administration official tasked with addressing the border.
The digital spot ends 'Vote Republican. Stop Kamala.'
Biden has thus far refused to step out of the presidential race. It is believed his first wife, First Lady Jill Biden, is encouraging him to stay in
But so far Biden has refused to step aside as the Democratic nominee.
'I'm staying in the race,' he insisted in a fiery speech in Madison, Wisconsin on Friday.
It is believed his wife, First Lady Jill Biden, is the one encouraging him to stay in the race - with one source close to the First Family saying she 'has [the] ultimate influence' on her husband.
Anthony Fowler, a professor at the University of Chicago's Harris School of Public Policy, however, has suggested the president's team may not think there is a viable alternative to defeat former President Donald Trump in the general election.
'If Biden were confident in Kamala's ability to win, he may have stepped aside to endorse her,' Fowler explained to Axios.
He added: 'If the voters believed that Joe Biden was the best person for the job, and they were excited to vote for him, they would still be happy to vote for him regardless of whether he had said in 2020 that he was likely to be a one-term president or was just going to be a short-term bridge.
'Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of voters who are enthusiastic about voting for Biden right now.'
