Would Replacing Kamala Harris Help Joe Biden In 2024? In the wake of a new NBC News survey that found almost half of Americans have a negative view of Vice President Kamala Harris, making her the least popular vice president in history, many Democrats are no doubt wondering whether it’s time for President Joe Biden to choose a new candidate to join him on his 2024 ticket.
It’s already a little late, of course, with the president having already announced his campaign – but it wouldn’t be impossible.
Kamala Harris: A Problem?
Writing in Newsweek, Tom Rogers argued that the Democrats shouldn’t ditch Biden, but replace Harris instead.
Citing a “strong” economy (do we live in the same country?) and dwindling inflation (again, are we experiencing the same realities?), Rogers suggests that Biden is a capable candidate instep with most of the country – particularly on issues like abortion and gun control. And, he’s not wrong on the latter. However, Biden’s age means that a vote for him is truly, in the eyes of many voters, a vote for Kamala Harris.
Also not wrong.
The White House knows this is a problem. We know that Biden’s strategists have been working for years on improving Harris’ image, and to no avail. Should he, therefore, consider a new candidate?
In my view, probably not.
He Probably Doesn’t Need To
Replacing Harris may seem tempting for the Democrats.
A new candidate, and one that can connect with working-class Americans and independents turned off in equal measure by Trump and by Woke progressives like Harris, may seem tempting. But, the truth is that Biden probably doesn’t need the help.
Biden already has a good excuse not to debate and not to appear at too many rallies. He is the president of the United States, and he has important business to deal with. In many ways, his 2024 campaign will likely reflect his 2020 socially-distanced campaign – only this time, he’ll be in the White House presumably doing important things and not hanging out in his basement.
Biden can minimize his exposure and therefore reduce the chance that he’ll have yet another embarrassing moment of confusion, or even a fall, on stage. All the while, he’ll be counting on the presumptive GOP nominee, former President Donald Trump, to dominate the headlines as he navigates a federal indictments and goes through perhaps the most widely-watched court case in history.
Biden is not a candidate who wins on merit. He’s already lost before. Biden wins by circumstance. He was chosen by former President Barack Obama to get an establishment Democrat on the ticket – many said he was a safe choice – and he won in 2020 because he wasn’t Trump.
Kamala Harris is terrible, but does Biden need to replace her when he’s counting on the GOP’s nominee to do all the work for him? Probably not.
Jack Buckby is 19FortyFive’s Breaking News Editor. He is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.
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