Without a doubt, the Kamala Harris campaign has sprung from the starting blocks with an unexpected vigor. She’s ultimately broken any previous established records on fundraising efforts, secured almost every influential endorsement from the Democratic leadership, and unleashed an overly dramatic advertisement to address the tone of her campaign. The next big thing on her agenda? Identifying a running mate. The field for possible vice presidential candidates is crowded, with no shortage of opinions about who she should choose. The options ranging from Midwestern governors to border-state Democrats, all in a bid to gain a foothold in the crucial battleground states.
Nevertheless, regardless of whatever strategy winds up on Harris’s mythical whiteboard, she must settle a series of queries. Which fellow representative does she desire to be the primary figure in all significant political discussions during her reign? Who does she rely on when dealing with sticky issues? And more importantly, with the clock ticking towards Election Day, who possesses the ability to fundraise independently, engage audience effectively, and generally prove helpful for the campaign? Harris has no room for error; her choice needs to be ready to hit the ground running, promoting the Democratic ticket on arrival.
However, it appears that throughout this election cycle, the Trump campaign was excessively focused on the wrong adversary. This distraction has the potential to backbite. The elderly Trump, aged 78, spent a significant portion of his campaign posing the 81-year old President Joe Biden as ‘too old’ for presidency. Instead, Harris, a comparatively young 59 years old, is now seemingly in prime position, which diverts all those conversations about Biden’s mental acuity towards Trump himself.
Yet, the Trump campaign has demonstrated utter confusion about how to handle Harris effectively. The Republicans have vainly tried to make a mockery of her laughter and skewed her speeches out of context – attempts that have only backfired miserably. Even Trump seems aware of the trap; he can’t criticize Harris’s prosecutorial track record without providing her with an easy retaliation – the fact that he was recently condemned by a jury of his peers.
Other Republicans have attempted to tag Harris as a ‘DEI hire,’ suggesting she has become the presumptive Democratic nominee chiefly because of her ethnicity and sex. This blatant example of racism and sexism has been rightly denounced by even Republican figures like House Speaker Mike Johnson. It’s important to remember that Harris served as prosecutor for twenty years before becoming California’s attorney general. Following this, she ascended to the role of US senator in 2016, gaining fame for her aggressive interrogation of judicial nominees during fierce congressional hearings.
In contrast to Harris’s rich political history, Trump transitioned to presidency from a background riddled with real estate failure and a reality show where people were fired fictitiously. To further undermine Harris’s credibility, these ‘DEI’ attacks are intended to discourage potential supporters. Retelling the comment of a woman of color from a recent New York Times interview, ‘America is just not ready for a woman president — especially not a Black woman president.’ But breaking new ground is always met with skepticism and resistance.
When I joined the Obama campaign in 2007, I faced similar sentiments from friends and family, who predicted my political journey would be brief, as ‘the country wasn’t ready to elect a Black president.’ A recent op-ed by Hillary Clinton, another pioneer, outlined the unique challenges awaiting Harris, saying, ‘While it still pains me that I couldn’t break that highest, hardest glass ceiling, I’m proud that my two presidential campaigns made it seem normal to have a woman at the top of the ticket.’
Clarifying further, she said, ‘Ms. Harris will face unique additional challenges as the first Black and South Asian woman at the top of a major party’s ticket…That’s real, but we shouldn’t be afraid. It is a trap to believe that progress is impossible.’ Continuing the analogy, fear indeed is a horrifying pitfall. And it’s a pitfall that needs to be exposed and rejected.
Despite the current Republican leadership’s possible efforts to soften their party members’ obvious remarks and derogatory potshots at Harris’s qualifications, it is unclear whether right-wing media pundits will be equally restrained. And neither is the individual topping their ticket. As a Trump adviser confided in The Bulwark this week, ‘Trump leads this campaign. So we’re ready for him to call her a DEI hire by Biden.’ Indeed, the Republicans seem prepared, and Democrats must put their guard up as well.
During an Oval Office address on Wednesday night, Biden expanded on his vision for the remaining six months of his rule. He excitedly declared his intent to call for ‘Supreme Court reform because this is critical to our democracy.’ Despite no details being announced yet, it is assumed this plan may encompass introducing an enforceable code of ethics, term limits, maybe even inflating the roster of justices. Plus, Biden could also contemplate advocating for a constitutional amendment to abolish broad immunity for presidents and other constitutional office holders.
However, the perceived plans face a stern challenge in the Republican-controlled House, where the Democrats only hold a skinny majority in the Senate. A constitutional amendment would pose even more challenges, involving the logistical nightmare of garnering two-thirds of the backing in both chambers, followed by ratification by three-fourths of state legislatures.
In the past, Biden chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee for eight long years and spent nearly a decade as the ranking minority member. It’s safe to say he doesn’t see these proposed measures of Supreme Court reform as mere empty rhetoric. Riding on this sentiment, Biden seems to be showing no intention of quietly exiting from his stint as president.