OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
A New York Times profile piece published over the weekend did not portray Vice President Kamala Harris’s political future in a positive way, furthering speculation that President Joe Biden may dump her ahead of the 2024 election.
Several Democrats who spoke to the outlet — anonymously — doubted she would be the 2024 nominee and added that she has not done much to define herself and her role in the administration.
“Even some Democrats whom her own advisers referred reporters to for supportive quotes confided privately that they had lost hope in her,” says the report from Zolan Kanno-Youngs, Katie Rogers, and Peter Baker.
The report noted further that a “panic” has emerged within the Democratic ranks as many begin to question whether an 80-year-old President Biden will even run again, leaving Harris as the next obvious, an unappealing, choice.
“Through much of the fall, a quiet panic set in among key Democrats about what would happen if President Biden opted not to run for a second term. Most Democrats interviewed, who insisted on anonymity to avoid alienating the White House, said flatly that they did not think Ms. Harris could win the presidency in 2024,” the Times report noted. “Some said the party’s biggest challenge would be finding a way to sideline her without inflaming key Democratic constituencies that would take offense.”
The White House, naturally, offered praise for Harris, but the Times noted that she has been polling worse than Biden for most of his term, and his numbers aren’t stellar. She was also put in charge of issues like mitigating the still-ongoing crisis along the U.S.-Mexico border, but she’s seen has having done little to fix it.
“I can’t think of one thing she’s done except stay out of the way and stand beside him at certain ceremonies,” Democratic Party fundraiser John Morgan said.
Last month, rumors flew that some allies of Biden have suggested replacing Harris. The mainstream media has also begun pushing a narrative of infighting and a potential 2024 shake-up on the Democratic ticket.
In a scathing piece published by The Hill, Douglas MacKinnon suggested that Democrats could be “in a world of hurt” if they don’t “look beyond the current occupants of the White House.”
“About two months ago, I wrote an article suggesting that President Biden should replace his vice president, Kamala Harris, with California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and then resign, to give Democrats a better chance at retaining the White House in 2024. Though of course it was not a game plan that Biden would ever entertain, my intent was to ignite a discussion on the viability of a ticket led by either Biden or Harris going forward. And my point still stands: When it comes to picking a presidential ticket for 2024, many people believe — including some liberals — the Democratic Party could be in a world of hurt if it doesn’t look beyond the current occupants of the White House,” wrote MacKinnon, a political and communications consultant.
“Some Democrats have told me they don’t think either Biden or Harris would give their party the best chance in the next election. More than that, several worry that Democrats will have a dilemma if they try to move away from Harris, since she is the first woman and first person of color to be elected vice president — a special place in American history,” he added.
This narrative is starting to take hold in the mainstream media with 2024 around the corner.
In a similar piece published by Slate titled, “If Biden Runs Again, He Should Pick a New VP,” Christina Cauterucci noted how “we are stuck with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris” for now but that Biden may be able to “change that” going into 2024.
Capitol Weekly ran a story titled, “Memo to Democrats: Beware of Kamala Harris, in 2024 or beyond,” where Democrat strategist Garry South detailed, “Despite her obvious intelligence, Harris just isn’t very good, I’m sorry to say, either as a candidate or communicator. When it comes to Harris and 2024 – or beyond — Democrats would be wise to bear in mind the old time-honored caution, caveat emptor.”
The Atlantic published a report titled, “20 Reader Ideas for Who Could Replace Biden,” where the outlet compiled a list of potential lawmakers who could replace Biden.
