Vice President Kamala Harris has never been closer to the presidency after Joe Biden’s disastrous debate performance sent Democratic elites into a tailspin about her chances in the 2024 election.
As vice president of the United States, Harris is the natural successor to the presidency if Biden resigns. But for years, Democrats have criticized Harris’ performance and believe she should not replace Biden before the election.
One well-connected Democrat told DailyMail.com after the debate that the choice was between an “obviously broken Biden” or Harris, describing the vice president as “extremely unpleasant” and a “terrible” politician.
“I think I would have a better chance with Biden,” he said.
A political operative in Washington, DC, described to DailyMail.com the mood of Democrats on Friday morning.
“Everyone is going to try to resurrect Joe Biden today, but after that debate, Jesus Christ couldn’t be resurrected,” he said.
He described the “Kamala conundrum” as a result of Biden and Democrats playing the “dangerous game” of identity politics to boost their numbers among the Black community.
“She could be very good for the grassroots, right?” he said. “But you still need independent voters who just don’t trust her.”
Other Democrats acknowledged that Biden had a poor night, but the party is not ready to replace him with Harris.
US Vice President Kamala Harris has come out to defend President Joe Biden’s debate performance, even as Democrats question whether they should replace the president before the election.
“You won’t find me telling Joe Biden to back down in a simple debate,” said one Democratic strategist.
Democrats privately believe Harris has given her best, but as with the conversation about Biden’s age, the party does not allow any comments critical of the vice president’s performance.
In mulling Biden’s replacement, Democrats cited the well-known political risk of attempting to replace Harris, the historic first Black vice president, with another white man.
Bakari Sellers, a former South Carolina representative and CNN commentator, warned Democrats to stay away from the idea.
“If Joe Biden were to drop out and anyone at this table thought that they were going to need a white guy to attack Kamala Harris, then we would have a problem in the Democratic Party,” he said on CNN. “That’s not happening.”
Democrats privately believe Harris has risen to the occasion, but much like the conversation about Biden’s age, the party is not allowing any comments critical of the vice president’s performance.
Democratic strategists and donors are closely watching the media performances of their top potential recruits as they weigh whether removing Biden from the ticket is worth the political risk.
It did not go unnoticed by Democrats to see Harris unexpectedly appear on their television screens after the debate to defend Biden and his debate performance.
Harris appeared with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow and ABC News’ Linsey Davis to defend Biden.
Harris did her best, but even the vice president admitted it wasn’t Biden’s best night.
“Listen, he didn’t have a good start in that debate, but he had a good finish, and you know it was a slow start and a strong finish,” he said on CNN.
Speaking outside the debate, Harris wore a large gold chain around her neck, which was identified on social media as a $62,000 Tiffany necklace.
Harris sidestepped questions about whether Biden should step aside and urged Democrats to look at the bigger picture.
“The bottom line is this: Let’s not decide who will be the president of the United States based on a 90-minute debate,” he said.
Former White House press secretary Jen Psaki theorized that Harris’ appearance was a last-minute move by the Biden campaign to distract from Biden’s performance.
“You don’t send the vice president of the United States if you won the debate, typically,” he said on MSNBC Thursday night.
Around the same time, California Governor Gavin Newsom was in the debate room making his speech to nervous Democrats.
But rather than admit defeat, Newsom scolded nervous Democrats for even thinking about replacing the president, calling such comments “unhelpful and unnecessary.”
US President Joe Biden is received by California Governor Gavin Newsom in California
US President Joe Biden campaigns with Vice President Kamala Harris
“You don’t turn your back on a single performance. What kind of party does that? She asked. ‘This president has delivered. We need to deliver on it right now.”
Earlier in the evening, he exclusively told DailyMail.com that claims he could replace Joe Biden on the presidential ticket are “a farce.”
Pollster Nate Silver harshly criticized Biden’s performance in an article published the next day, ultimately urging him to drop out after putting Democrats in a “terrible position.”
‘If you’re a Democrat, you should be angry at these people for putting you in this situation. Same goes for the special interest groups who insisted that Kamala Harris should be vice president, against Biden’s initial instincts,’ he wrote.
But Silver admitted that Harris or Newsom could be better than Trump.
“Give me Harris right now, who at least is more of a blank slate,” he wrote, adding that “Harris and Newsom are not my preferred choices, but I prefer them to Biden.”
Former Obama speechwriter Jon Lovett admitted on the Pod Save America podcast that the party was in an uproar after the debate.
Jon Lovett, Obama’s former speechwriter, admitted on the Pod Save America podcast that the party was outraged after the debate.
“Nobody knows what Joe Biden is going to do, Kamala Harris is winging it with Anderson Cooper, Gavin Newsom doesn’t know, everyone is just figuring this out,” Jon Lovett.
Lovett urged everyone to wait until the party resolved the future and said the decision on whether or not Biden should stay in the race was ultimately up to Biden.
“We are not condemned until the elections are over and many things can change until then; no one knows what is going to happen, so we are going step by step,” he concluded.
Another Democratic strategist told DailyMail.com that he was looking forward to the July 4 holiday weekend, indicating that a week-long break from politics could help calm the party.
“Maybe two weeks,” he added.