President Joe Biden’s public schedule notes that Vice President Kamala Harris has recently attended two daily briefings. This is not normally noted in the calendar and points to a greater public emphasis on Harris’ role in the Biden administration. If there is a push by Democrats to replace Biden with Harris for the nomination, they will find she cannot save the ticket.
As has been constantly discussed in the media since the presidential debate, Biden’s campaign is struggling. Former President Donald Trump is up 3.3% on Biden in a head-to-head matchup, and nine congressional Democrats have called for Biden to drop out of the race, with many others publicly expressing concerns about Biden’s ability to win the election.
With many Democrats skeptical of Biden’s chances, there has been a reexamination of Harris’ potential as a presidential candidate. Due to her identity as a black woman and the political realities of name recognition and funding, Harris is most likely to replace Biden if he were to step aside.
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) said Harris “has the experience, the judgment, and the leadership ability to be an extraordinary president,” and Van Jones, a political commentator, told CNN, “The reality is we are running Kamala Harris for president one way or the other. I’d rather run her for president in the strongest way rather than the weakest way.”
But Harris would struggle to be an effective candidate. She has consistently failed to present herself well to the public. One example is her attempt to make the clumsy line “unburdened by what has been” her catchphrase. This stilted political language is unlikely to make her endearing to voters.
Another infamous episode of hers was when she was asked to explain the war in Ukraine. She slowly explained the conflict as if her listener was a small child, saying, “So, Ukraine is a country in Europe. It exists next to another country called Russia. Russia is a bigger country. Russia is a powerful country. Russia decided to invade a smaller country called Ukraine. So, basically, that’s wrong, and it goes against everything that we stand for.”
Beyond her unlikability, Harris carries ideological baggage. She ran to the left of Biden during her 2020 presidential campaign. In the past, she called for a ban on fracking and supported Green New Deal legislation. Her history as a Democrat from California means many of her past positions were determined by the threat posed by primary competitors to her left, setting her up to struggle in a national political environment that favors Democrat moderates.
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Still, recent polls indicate that Harris would perform better than Biden in an election against Trump. But this is not saying much, as nearly any alternative at this moment would poll higher than Biden. Even in the polls that favor Harris over Biden, she is still behind Trump by two points. It is worth remembering that at this time during the close 2020 election, Biden was up by over 9%.
Already, the Trump campaign is readying attacks against Harris. She benefits now from a lack of public scrutiny, which will manifest if she becomes the Democratic nominee. But she is also the natural heir if Biden steps aside, putting the Democratic Party in a tough conundrum for 2024. Neither Biden nor Harris are good options for Democrats in November.
