Nobody in the Democrat Party cared about Joe Biden. The way Democrats humiliated and blackmailed him into dropping out of the 2024 presidential race proves it. Similarly, no one cares about Kamala Harris. She is, in every sense, the candidate Democrats are stuck with because Biden named her his running mate back in 2020. If you believe all the enthusiasm we're hearing about for Kamala is real, you're extremely gullible.
For sure, the media are working hard to boost Harris right now. Among other efforts to boost her, outlets are memory-holing her role as Biden’s border czar, and we’ve seen countless stories about the money the Biden-turned-Harris campaign has raised since Biden dropped out.
Yes, Harris has raised a lot of money since she took the baton from Biden, but that surge in fundraising is also a misleading metric — and I’m not talking about the rumors of ActBlue’s money laundering and straw donations. As PJ Media’s Rick Moran noted, both megadonor and grassroots contributions dried up after Biden’s disastrous debate performance. This surge in donations is merely part of the expected campaign realignment. I suspect everything from donations to polling will soon stabilize to pre-debate levels.
When Obama chose Biden as his running mate in 2008, he moved up from a long-time senator with a mixed record to the vice president of the United States. This association with Obama gave Biden a veneer of popularity that helped him coast into the 2020 presidential race. Biden's supposed "popularity" with Democrats was largely a reflection of the Obama era's residual goodwill by making him his running to balance his own lack of experience.
Fast forward to 2020, and Biden's campaign was floundering until a critical endorsement from Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) turned the tide for him. Clyburn’s blessing essentially resurrected Biden's candidacy, propelling him to the Democratic nomination and ultimately the presidency.
However, this popularity was always superficial, built on the coattails of Obama's presidency rather than Biden's own merits. It's worth noting that Obama himself urged Biden not to run in 2016, suggesting that he was such a nonentity that even his closest ally didn't see him as a viable candidate.
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Now, in 2024, after Democrats forced Biden out of the presidential race, we see a similar dynamic playing out with Harris. Harris, who struggled to gain traction during the 2020 Democratic primaries, owes her current prominence to her selection as Biden's running mate. Just as Biden benefited from Obama’s halo effect, Harris has enjoyed a boost just for serving as his running mate. Her 2020 presidential campaign was so horrible that she dropped out before a single vote was cast.
However, as Biden steps down, the surge in enthusiasm for Harris may prove to be a mirage, just as Biden's was in 2020. She also has the distinction of being the least popular vice president in the history of polling. And justifiably so because her tenure has been marked by controversy and criticism and plenty of awkward cackling.
The honeymoon period won't last forever, and Harris will have to defend the Biden-Harris administration record as well as her record as a senator and as California's attorney general. Harris's newfound popularity is built on sand. The enthusiasm she briefly enjoyed is more about her position than her individual appeal or political accomplishments.
Biden's rise and fall should serve as a cautionary tale for Harris that relying on borrowed popularity is a risky thing. She needs genuine support, built on personal appeal. Obama had that. Biden didn't. And Harris has even less.
