Support increases for Harris but defiant Biden vows to stay in race

US vice-president Kamala Harris is engaged in a delicate balancing act, playing cheerleader for president Joe Biden while standing by as a contender to replace him if he ends his re-election bid.

Biden faced a critical test of support for his faltering re-election bid on Tuesday (9) as Democrats in Congress met to discuss whether he should stand down in the battle against former president Donald Trump.

 While the 81-year-old tries to shore up his international reputation in a speech at the NATO alliance’s 75th anniversary summit in Washington, his own party is weighing up his future. 

 Biden’s dismal performance in a debate last month with Donald Trump triggered panic in much of the Democratic party as people questioned whether Biden was physically and mentally able to beat Trump and serve another four years.  

Former congressman Tim Ryan, while professing his admiration for Biden, wrote in a piece for News- week that “the Democratic nominee in 2024 should be Kamala Harris”.  

Jim Clyburn, a senior House Democrat and black leader, told MSNBC: “We should do everything we can to bolster her, whether it’s in second place or at the top of the ticket.” 

 Harris herself has not publicly voiced any desire to replace Biden.  

“Look, Joe Biden is our nominee,” she said in an interview last week with CBS News. “We beat Trump once, and we’re going to beat him again, period.” She added that she was proud to be on the current ticket with the president.  

Shortly after the debate, Harris rushed onto TV to defend Biden, admitting he had started off slowly in the clash with Trump, but saying he ultimately finished strong. Harris, 59, is the first woman, the first black person and the first person of Asian origin – her mother was from India – to hold the job that puts her a heartbeat from the presidency, as the Americans like to say.  

Harris would become president if Biden died in office or became incapacitated. But she would not necessarily replace Biden if he were to end his candidacy, and Biden has insisted he has no such plans. 

Harris with Joe Biden as they watch fireworks at the National Mall from the White House balcony last Thursday (4) “For three-and-a-half years there has always been this drumbeat that someone other than the VP should be the Democratic candidate,” said Ange-Marie Hancock, professor of political science at the Ohio State University.  

Hancock said it was possible an “undercurrent of racism and sexism” was at work against Harris.  

For years Harris has been less popular among Americans than other Democrats seen as possible candidates, such as California governor Gavin Newsom or his Michigan counterpart Gretchen Whitmer.  

US media have reported extensively on mistakes she made early in this administration, mainly on the diplomatic front, and on tension among her staffers. 

 But Hancock said things could turn in Harris’s favour, because she has spent time out visiting battleground states, in particular to promote abortion rights as it came under repeated fire from conservatives judges and governors.  

Flickers of that turn could be seen on social media, where supportive Harris related memes have begun going viral under the hashtag #KHive.  

Harris is sometimes criticised as disappointing as an orator. But she got a warm welcome when she made a tour of universities that was focused on schools with high numbers of minority students. She is scheduled to make more stops this month to speak to African American audiences, particularly women, with three trips to places like Louisiana, Texas and Indiana. 

 Organisers are planning to knock on more than three million doors in July and August to do personal outreach to voters in a new £13.2 million effort. 

 For Biden, every moment now is critical to restoring the lost confidence stemming from his shaky performance in Atlanta last week. There are signs that some key groups are already staking out positions on who should succeed Biden as the Democratic nominee. 

Glynda C Carr, CEO of the Higher Heights for America PAC, which supports black women candidates, said that Harris should lead the ticket if Biden steps down, stating that anyone else would be “yet another blatant example of the ongoing dismissal of black women’s leadership in the national political narrative.” 

 “To put it plainly, vice-president Harris shouldn’t appear on a list of potential replacements. Kamala Harris is the only successor,” Carr said. (Agencies)