Amid President Joe Biden’s controversial reelection campaign, Democrats have started to consider Vice President Kamala Harris as an alternative, but public scrutiny has followed suit.
The public has seen what the candidates for the presidential campaign have to offer, and it’s looking like slim pickings for the presidential seat. Some Democratic officials look towards Harris as another possible win in the race against the Republican party, but the public thinks she isn’t the best option either.
Although having the support of some members of her party, Harris remains consistent in her loyalty to Biden. Going to lengths to ignore the calls regarding her chances at taking over the Democratic candidacy for him, Harris has made some rather misleading changes: her office had her attending the Fourth of July picnic and fireworks with Biden. The change was made a week after the live Presidential debate on June 28.
With this update, she breaks her tradition of visiting a local fire station during the nation’s Independence Day.
Following Democratic governors’ disagreements with the White House’s plan to have her speak in place of Biden, Harris was placed in the meeting alongside him. She gave a closing speech regarding unity and loyalty to the president.
These changes give a different perspective on Harris’s initial claim, with her seemingly having to aid Biden in public settings, especially after the debate.
During a recent interview, Biden used the press to continuously reassure the public that he would not take a medical evaluation, even if it would prove his fine condition after his “bad episode” during the presidential debate.
He notes that he takes a cognitive test every day to ensure that he is able to handle all his duties. “Every day, I have that test. Everything I do. You know, not only am I campaigning, but I’m running the world.”
Without a hiccup, Biden finished the 22-minute interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on Friday with zero significant errors.
Even with this update, another Democratic lawmaker joined several others in supporting Biden’s dismissal of his reelection campaign. Some say he should “pass the torch.”
Yet he remains unfazed and persistent in his race to win, even urging those opposed to his running in a two-page letter stating the up-in-the-air question of whether he should stay is “time for it to end.”
The continuous concern over Biden has Democrats putting Harris in the forefront, with many officials speaking to donors about her chances of winning. Biden’s officials and advisers have devised plans to persuade him to throw in the towel and support Harris. If accomplished, it would entice the rest of the party to do the same.
As this becomes clear, public spectators who disagree with the change in candidacy are voicing their concerns about Harris’s demeanor and previous actions as vice president.
In March, Harris spoke about the lack of safe locations for Palestinian citizens during the Israel and Palestine conflict in Gaza, “I have studied the maps,” said Harris. “There’s nowhere for those folks [Palestinians] to go.”
From her response, Israel later evacuated a million people in ten days, leading them to a ‘safe zone’ in central Gaza.
Harris failed to prove her knowledge of foreign lands to the public.
Jake Wallis Simons, editor of The Jewish Chronicle and author of “Israelophobia”, is opposed to her possible candidacy, noting that Harris’s anti-Israel speech was “water down”, according to three U.S. officials and a former U.S. official. Simons mentions, “This may be about something darker than ineptitude.”
According to Mini Timmaraju, president of the abortion rights advocacy group Reproductive Freedom for All, NARAL, said “I don’t care if they love her or not. I know I should as an ally on the campaign…but they have to trust that she’s getting the job done – and saving our democracy.”
Knowing some of the public’s opposing views on her gives an idea of what the turnout will be if her presidential candidacy comes true.
“By April, her [Harris] favourability ratings had plummeted to -16. They now stand at -20, marginally ahead of the President at—24, according to CNN” said Simons. “The fact that Trump is ahead at—15 tells you everything you need to know about this election.”
Election day is four months away.
