Vice President Kamala Harris attends a campaign event in College Park, Maryland on June 24. (Photo by Kevin Deitch/Getty Images)
As evidence mounts that Joe Biden is being ousted from the presidency, shaken Democrats are quietly turning to Vice President Kamala Harris to salvage the party's hopes of taking the White House.
Kamala Harris may be the only “Plan B” for Democrats to defeat Republican Donald Trump. Despite her unpopularity and dismal record, Harris has a better chance of beating Trump than Biden.
Ambitious Democrats hoping to challenge Trump include California Governor Gavin Newsom, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro.
But it will be difficult, if not impossible, for Democrats to ignore the 59-year-old Harris, the first Black vice president, after four years of waiting. The only Democrat who could ignore her is Michelle Obama, who has not shown any desire to run.
As a growing number of angry Democrats called for Biden to step down, The New York Times reported that the president acknowledges that if he does not recover quickly in the coming days, he may not be able to continue in his duties.
Democratic media outlets are also regretting not reporting on Biden's declining cognitive abilities sooner and for scorning a Wall Street Journal article about Biden's mental health, calling it a partisan attack piece. Only now are reporters asking the White House tough questions about the president's mental health.
Biden has a crucial interview scheduled for Friday with ABC's George Stephanopoulos where he will need to show he is still mentally capable of governing, but the public has already concluded that Biden should step aside, with three-quarters of Americans saying they don't think he can continue campaigning.
Biden met Wednesday night with Democratic governors, including Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, shored up support within a party that is rapidly abandoning him.
Harris has already privately positioned herself as a potential Biden alternative in case the president accepts reality and concedes the nomination this summer before the August convention. Biden won 3,894 delegates in the primary, but those could easily be transferred to Harris during the convention. Harris also has access to the Biden-Harris campaign's massive $240 million campaign coffers.
For now, she has publicly supported Biden.
“Vice President Harris looks forward to serving a second term alongside President Joe Biden,” her office said in a statement.
According to a CNN poll, Harris is expected to receive just 45% of the vote if she faces Trump, two points lower than her Republican opponent. Biden is trailing Trump by six points in the CNN poll.
Harris has had an erratic performance as vice president, making a number of gaffes and appearing unwilling to take on the role of immigration secretary.
She also ran a terrible campaign in the 2020 presidential election and was ultimately forced to withdraw. Harris also has a rocky relationship with Jill Biden after she attacked Joe Biden during the 2020 campaign.
Democrats are not optimistic that Ms Harris will magically emerge as the top candidate: Newsom or another candidate will likely emerge at the convention to seek the nomination or be considered as Ms Harris' running mate.
