As U.S. President Joe Biden took on his critics in Washington, Vice President Kamala Harris made the case to their allies around the country.
She told Black voters at Essence Fest that 2024 is the 鈥渕ost significant election of our lifetime鈥 over the weekend. In Nevada Tuesday, a battleground state crucial to their reelection bid, she blasted Project 2025 鈥 the 900-page policy agenda drafted by conservatives with ties to former President Donald Trump.
And in Dallas Wednesday, she reminded her Alpha Kappa Alpha sisters that they had been 鈥渙n the front lines of the fight to realize the promise of America鈥 for more than a century.
鈥淥ur nation is counting on the leaders in this room to guide us forward, to energize, organize and mobilize, to register folks to vote and to get them to the polls in November,鈥 Harris said. 鈥淏ecause we know when we organize, mountains move. When we mobilize, nations change. And when we vote, we make history.鈥
Whether Biden steps aside or 鈥 as he has insisted for nearly two weeks 鈥 remains the Democratic nominee, Harris has been under increased pressure to clearly articulate the stakes of this year鈥檚 election, draw distinctions between the Biden administration and Trump, and defend the ticket from Republican attacks. The vice president鈥檚 efforts to reach minority voters and other key constituencies has become critical.
Supporters say this is the work she has been doing 鈥 drawing on her lived experiences as a Black and South Asian woman as well as her professional background as a former district attorney, attorney general and California senator as she lays out the campaign and administration鈥檚 policies such as gun safety, small business and reproductive rights.
鈥淚 think there鈥檚 a strong team. I think you鈥檝e got Biden, but you also have a really strong vice president, and I鈥檓 glad that the world is discovering her now,鈥 said LaTosha Brown, a co-founder of Black Voters Matter. 鈥淥ftentimes, Black women are not seen until they鈥檙e needed.鈥
If Biden remains the nominee, Harris鈥檚 work shoring up the base could help in swing states like Pennsylvania, where she is attending the Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote presidential town hall Saturday
Dennisa Thomas, a Kansas City, Missouri, resident who attended AKA鈥檚 71st Boule in Dallas, cited Harris鈥檚 support of the president as part of her own continued backing of Biden.
鈥淪he is supportive of him staying on the ticket and I trust her judgment,鈥 the 31-year-old systems engineer told CNN. 鈥淪o if he needs to stay, he needs to stay.鈥
If Biden does step aside, her presence on the campaign trail could help quell concerns about her ability to take on the role without gaffes or missteps.
A new Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll found that just 30 per cent of adults 鈥 including 42 per cent of Democrats 鈥 want Biden to continue his campaign, compared to 67 per cent who think he should step aside for someone else. If Biden ended his reelection bid and Harris became the nominee, 44 per cent of all adults would be satisfied 鈥 including 37 per cent of independents, 18 per cent of Republicans and 77 per cent of Democrats.
Biden and the campaign have insisted that he is the strongest candidate to defeat Trump, despite polls showing a slight drop in his support post-debate. In a Biden campaign memo to staff first reported by The Associated Press, senior aides wrote there is 鈥渘o indication that anyone else would outperform the president vs. Trump,鈥 arguing that hypothetical match ups don鈥檛 take into account future negative coverage another candidate would face.
One of the first criticisms Harris would face as the nominee would be over her support of Biden.
鈥淜amala Harris actually is responsible for Joe Biden鈥檚 disastrous presidency because she鈥檚 covered for it,鈥 Ohio Republican Sen. J.D. Vance, a possible Trump vice presidential pick, told CNN this week.
This week, the Trump campaign released a digital ad accusing Harris of a misleading the public about Biden鈥檚 fitness, featuring clips of Harris vouching for Biden鈥檚 health and mental capabilities.
Even before the president鈥檚 shaky performance in last month鈥檚 CNN debate, the Biden-Harris ticket trailed Trump in polls and showed signs of losing support among Black and Hispanic men and young voters compared to 2020.
Now, Biden is trudging down a long, hard road to rebuild faith in their ticket after weeks of Democrats publicly and privately doubting his ability to win. As of now, the campaign has maintained the trust of many Democratic Party loyalists, particularly Black women, who have balked at the idea of shaking up the ticket, even if it meant making Harris the nominee.
鈥淲e鈥檙e in a moment right now where there is this distinction between Democratic voters and the elites within the party,鈥 said Adrianne Shropshire, the executive director of BlackPAC, a Black voter engagement group. 鈥淎nd so that gap needs to be closed rather quickly, because time is short and you don鈥檛 want to depress your own vote.鈥
That dynamic has created an opening for Harris, who many of the president鈥檚 Democratic critics have suggested could replace him on the ticket, to redirect attention to the campaign 鈥 and her role within it.
鈥淎s President Biden has said, he counts on Vice President Harris鈥 advice and counsel,鈥 Harris press secretary Ernesto Apreza said in a statement. 鈥淲hether it is fighting to protect fundamental freedoms 鈥 including a woman鈥檚 right to make decisions about her own body 鈥 lowering the cost of prescription drugs for families, or advancing U.S. national security interests on the world stage, Vice President Harris is proud to be a governing partner to President Biden, and together they will continue to lead the nation forward.鈥
The last two weeks have shown a change in tone regarding Harris. At one point last year, the vice president was the subject of Democratic hand-wringing and concerns that she would drag down the ticket, following the waves of bad headlines throughout the first of the Biden administration.
That included a botched response to an interview question about whether she planned to visit the US-Mexico border as part of her role managing the flow of migration from Central America.
In other instances, allies argue, Harris received pushback because her approach to the job 鈥 such as efforts to highlight Black maternal health or her focus on the Divine Nine historic Black sororities and fraternities 鈥 didn鈥檛 resemble how past vice presidents tackled the role.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think people quite knew what to make of her, because she was trying to do it differently,鈥 said one senior Democratic official who is close the vice president鈥檚 office. 鈥淪he was trying to figure out how to do the role in a way that was true to her, not just how others had done it.鈥
The shift began after the Supreme Court鈥檚 June 2022 decision to overturn the federal right to abortion, which helped turned the tide not just for Democrats, but for Harris specifically. In March, Harris became the first sitting vice president to visit an abortion clinic.
Mini Timmaraju, the president of Reproductive Freedom for All, formerly known as NARAL, said Democrats鈥 best bet for winning in November is with Biden, but Harris is the 鈥渂est spokesperson鈥 on the issue.
鈥淚 want to be clear, Joe Biden is with us,鈥 she said. 鈥淏ut she needs to be that cheerleader and that person who鈥檚 really lifting up the accomplishments of the entire ticket.鈥
On Thursday, Harris traveled to North Carolina for campaign event at Greensboro鈥檚 Dudley High School, the first Black high school in Guilford County in a school system that was once segregated by law.
Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper pointed to Harris鈥 visit to the state, on the heels of Biden鈥檚 Raleigh rally the day after the debate and a recent trip to Wilmington by First Lady Jill Biden, as more evidence that the Biden-Harris campaign is 鈥渟till alive and well in North Carolina.鈥 Cooper waved off speculation that he might be on the short list for vice presidential nominees if Biden steps aside and Harris becomes the nominee.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to play into this new favorite political parlor game, because it鈥檚 too important for America to stop Donald Trump,鈥 Cooper told CNN Wednesday. 鈥淛oe Biden has said he is running. I support him. We have a president and a vice president who are doing a good job, and I don鈥檛 expect those nominees to change.鈥
