The vice presidency is often considered a springboard for the presidency. In the case of Kamala Harris, that ascension seemed inevitable, as many believed that the Old White Guy™ Joe Biden was a Trojan Horse candidate, whose only purpose was get elected before stepping aside so the left’s preferred candidate could be installed as president.
The only problem with that plan was that Joe Biden picked Kamala Harris. Sure, she was the opposite of an Old White Guy™ being a Black Woman™ and all—though I could be wrong since I’m not a biologist.
Harris hasn’t exactly been a stellar vice president—okay, she’s absolutely awful—but she’s nevertheless been the most likely Biden alternative in 2024 if he doesn’t run.
And pretty much no one believes he will.
This would normally be good news for Kamala Harris, whose candidacy was so bad in the 2020 primaries that she dropped out before the Iowa caucuses, but her sinking poll numbers and seemingly endless string of high-profile embarrassments has taken its toll on her standing.
According to Aaron Blake of the Washington Post, Harris is no longer the first choice after Biden for the Democratic nomination in 2024.
“We’re dropping Harris down a slot this time,” Blake writes. “Being vice president is certainly a good launchpad, but it’s not at all clear Harris has put it to good use. Her numbers are similar to Biden’s, and she’s done little to change the perceptions that harmed her 2020 campaign, including on her ability to drive a message. There’s also no way she would run against Biden if he does run [while others might have seen wiggle room on that]. On the plus side, Biden has committed to her being his running mate again.”
RELATED: Is Kamala Harris Still Biden’s Heir Apparent?
Harris, according to the Washington Post‘s rankings, loses out to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, though, Blake notes, his ascension in the ranking is “not with any great conviction on our part.” Which is basically another way of saying he moved up because Kamala Harris is just so awful. “To the extent people don’t want Biden or Harris, he’s next in line just in terms of sheer plausibility,” Blake explains.
In other words, Buttigieg’s rise has more to do with Harris’s weakness than his strength.
And frankly, things really don’t look good for Kamala if Biden decides not to run for reelection. As we saw in 2020, she’s a lousy campaigner, and as we’ve seen since January 20, 2021, she’s an awful vice president—in fact, she’s so awful that she’s not even well-liked in her home state anymore. According to a recent Los AngelesTimes poll conducted by UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies, “just 38% of the state’s voters approved of Harris’ performance as vice president, while 46% disapproved.” Not only is California her home state, but it’s also a deep blue state in which she has won four statewide elections. If there’s anywhere she should be popular it’s there. And she ain’t.
Blake acknowledges that without Biden running, the Democratic nomination is expected to be “the most wide-open contests in recent memory.”
In other words, Kamala Harris is no longer Biden’s heir apparent. And that’s her fault. Sure, she can’t change her repulsive personality, but every opportunity she’s had to prove her value to the administration has failed. Her unscripted moments are almost as cringeworthy as Biden’s. And her speeches are almost as bad.
And it’s hard to see her ever recovering.
