If President Joe Biden decides to drop out of the presidential race, he will likely be replaced at the top of the ticket by his running mate Kamala Harris.
Until this week, that possibility wasn’t much to worry about. But after Biden’s disastrous performance during Thursday night’s debate, Harris is suddenly a more serious assumption to be the Democratic nominee.
Before considering what it will actually look like, it’s helpful to take stock of his vice presidency — and vice presidential run — so far. Despite the frequent criticism and confusion surrounding what exactly his work is, he is now emerging as an indispensable surrogate and defender, and perhaps successor. He wasn’t a particularly breakthrough vice president, but he had moments on the campaign trail, albeit overlooked by the public and the press, when he was able to demonstrate his worth. Whether or not Biden steps down, it’s a preview of how his role could change in the coming months and even years.
Thursday night was one of those times. As the shocked and horrified reaction from Democratic operatives and the political press began after the debate, Harris was sent to CNN and MSNBC to defend Biden. He acknowledged that Biden had a “slow start,” but rounded off that answer by playing up a “strong finish” by the president. He went on the offensive: attacking Trump for his many lies during the debate and emphasizing Trump’s statements in defense of the January 6 uprising and his refusal to accept the election results.
In the process, he surprised a host of pundits who are surprised Why the White House has “covered him up for three years.”
The answer is complex.
Harris’s vice-presidency is muted by design
Unlike Biden’s tenure under former President Barack Obama, Harris’ role as vice president was less important. For most of his tenure, he has been assigned as a warm-up speaker and occasional Biden stand-in, delivering remarks at White House events with the president, attending summits and meeting with foreign leaders when Biden is needed in DC or on other trips, or, As of Thursday night, was brought in to clean up.
Many of these back-seat responsibilities are due to the nature of the vice-presidency: a constitutional office in which the president cannot function beyond being an additional body with no clear authority and is equally tied to having an extra vote in the US Senate.
But some of it appears to be deliberate. The Vice President has previously exercised influence and power. During George W. Bush’s first term, Vice President Dick Cheney essentially ran foreign policy for several years. Obama himself gave Biden a major mandate during the government’s response to the Great Recession, managing hundreds of billions of dollars. Federal stimulus spending.
Harris has received no such assignment, though Biden has suggested he wants his second-in-command to be a governor.”partnerDuring the 2020 campaign season. Questions on this matter Harris dog dog. Just nine months into Biden’s tenure, after a wave of negative media coverage, public absences, staff departures, and rhetorical missteps (which are now a Genres of memes), the White House issued a statement Reassuring the public that the president relied on Harris.
By that point, the perception that Harris had played an additional role had already formed in public and media perception. Instead of working on issues like criminal-justice reform and policing — his areas of expertise — He accepted the right to vote, an issue that was doomed to fail in an evenly divided Senate His portfolio was then filled with another damning assignment: dealing with the root causes of immigration from Latin America. mainstream Press coverage That job, and the Republican framing of it online and in the right-wing media, made it seem like his job would deal with immigration and the southern border. This fog made him an easy target for Republicans.
Still, something changed in 2022: when the Supreme Court reversed itself Roe v. Wade That summer and with the repeal of the constitutional right to an abortion, Harris suddenly had a clear lane in which to operate, and he took it: the Biden administration. Point person On Conservative Threats to Reproductive Rights.
Campaigning Harris has shown what an asset he can be
post-Dobbs And since a generally successful interim term later that same year, Harris’ official role has shifted. He has also been on foreign tours and gatherings of NATO and allied leaders, headlining National College Tourand embarked on two more nationwide tours: one dedicated to raising awareness this winter Threats to reproductive freedom (It started in 51St Its anniversary Roe v. Wade) and another focused this spring on “Economic opportunity“
The tour, although the events go outside the White House, serves as a campaign event as well. The stops were concentrated in swing states, and were intended to reach key Democratic constituencies where Harris could be better positioned to speak to young voters and college students, women, black and Latino Americans, and working-class communities. Unlike Biden, who is struggling with voters from all these backgrounds, Harris is one Natural communicator In these settings.
This shift in responsibilities has also changed his campaign role, especially as the primary season ends this spring and the general election begins. He made history. The White House saidThat’s when she visited an abortion clinic in Minneapolis in March, and has since given birth Promotional speech States that have taken measures to restrict abortion access, eg Florida And ArizonaBoth when the state’s top court upheld a century-old abortion ban and went into effect again On its second anniversary Dobbs.
He also continues to zero in on other progressive priorities gun safety, Student loan forgivenessAnd Gaza War. He has been engaging the media and giving more interviews than Biden, appearing as one the guest on popular podcastTV shows like The Drew Barrymore Show And Jimmy Kimmel Live!And Online discussion program to discuss the White House and Biden’s campaign priorities.
He’s filling the void that Biden created intentionally (because of his age) or not (because he’s also the president, running the country). Thursday night’s interview, and whatever appearances he’ll have to make to defend Biden, give us a glimpse of what’s to come: an expanded role for Veep in this post and a theoretical one next.
Biden will need it, and Democrats should want it, if Harris is to win the election, rule the nation or simply be a solid backup — just as the vice presidency is supposed to work.
