If you think things are bad for President Joe Biden right now, they’re even worse for his VP, Kamala Harris, who apparently doesn’t have enough appeal to keep Biden’s donors from scattering to the four winds.
As it stands, donors are willing to keep their money in the race despite their misgivings and likely knowledge that all is lost in November, but they’re “frightened” according to reports, as well they should be. There was nothing redeeming about Biden’s debate against Trump last week.
According to NBC News, Biden campaign manager Julie Chávez Rodríguez had a “tense call” with 40 of Biden’s top donors. During the call, they inevitably talked about what they could do if Biden could be urged to step aside. This brought up Harris, and according to the report, these contributors are talking about getting a refund instead:
Most of the campaign’s significant war chest would fall to Vice President Kamala Harris, Chavez Rodriguez said, according to two people familiar with the discussion. Only a smaller pool of money would be kept by the Democratic National Committee.
As several donors posited what a participant derisively referred to as fanciful “West Wing”-type scenarios for replacing Biden, Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., who joined for part of the call, emphasized that the process would be “messy” and predicted that Harris would ultimately end up as the nominee.
…
One participant said that many on the call were still firmly behind Biden but that “a lot of the participants are frightened.”
“There were some tough comments from those on the call. Some were upset that they are just hearing campaign talking points,” the participant said, adding that some donors even asked about having their contributions refunded.
Normally, you would select a VP candidate that would boost your standing with voters. I Biden’s case, it was reassurance that should anything happen to him, the Democrats would have a strong, charismatic, and wise leader to pick up where the President left off.
Only Harris is none of those things.
It says a lot that some donors are talking about getting a refund instead of suggesting Harris replace Biden, signaling instead that their support is behind the man with the cognitive impairment and blank stare than the cackling woman behind him. Not that they can be blamed. Harris has proven herself to be just an incompetent as Biden, if not more, despite having all her mental faculties in order.
According to Politico, her favorability rating is at 42 percent, one point less than Biden, while 52 percent see her in an unfavorable light.
While Harris taking over for Biden may cause some initial excitement strictly due to the rarity of such an event as the one that would happen, it’s likely that Harris would ultimately lose the support of Democrats as the problems she’s been suffering from float to the surface. She’s not very charismatic, she’s not very good when challenged on the spot, and her lack of accomplishments while VP wouldn’t make a strong case for her. That, and her past as California’s AG would haunt her, which is what got her kicked out early in the 2020 Democrat Party primary thanks to Tulsi Gabbard.
While I think that the Democrats are strongly considering replacing Biden, I think they’ll stick with him, as there aren’t many options out there that would be an improvement to their current situation. Biden’s family is urging him to stay in the race…
(READ: Shame on Jill Biden)
…and moreover, I think Democrats are signaling they are not okay with the idea of a Harris presidency. There isn’t enough faith there. She’s too vulnerable and not capable of defending herself.
That said, it could open the door for some pretty hilarious scenarios.
– Biden steps down
– DNC announces Kamala Harris is now the nominee
– Trump selects @TulsiGabbard as his VP
– Trump says he won’t waste his time debating Harris, but she’s more than welcome to debate Tulsi again.
– The popcorn industry sees its most profitable month in years.— Brandon Morse (@TheBrandonMorse) July 1, 2024
