Beating Trump Won't Be Easy, But Kamala Harris Gives Democrats a Chance
The new Democratic ticket holds large assets that the concerns about Biden’s age had obscured. Harris can use them, while also promising change.
Rarely in any realm does a gigantic wave of negative energy flip to positive in an instant. But it happened at 1:46 p.m. ET last Sunday.
The moment President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the 2024 race on social media, savage internal Democratic warfare stopped. A closed spigot of donor dollars opened back up. Biden transformed himself, in the estimation of his party, from selfish, doddering hanger-on to courageous national hero.
He left Republicans as the party with the incoherent oldest-ever presidential nominee. And he made his heretofore underwhelming vice president America’s best hope for safeguarding democracy from Donald Trump and his MAGA movement.
Kamala Harris’ calm, confident opening riff at campaign headquarters — “Hear me when I say, I know Donald Trump’s type” — inspired a surge of new confidence that she can do it.
"We’ll stop Donald Trump’s extreme abortion bans because we trust women to make decisions about their own body and not have their government tell them what to do,” Harris told a Wisconsin rally on Tuesday, wielding the single most powerful Democratic issue. Underscoring the promise of generational change, she declared, "The baton is in our hands."
Democrats, their burden lifted, are thrilled; Republicans, their strategy upended, are worried.
But that doesn’t suddenly make the new Democratic ticket favored to win. Trump has narrowly led, nationally and in decisive battlegrounds, for months. Republicans have already begun unloading a barrage of attacks and smears that will target everything from Harris’ record in government to her dating history to the way she laughs.
Harris’ Path
Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland aptly likened Biden to a star pitcher with a tired arm. At least for now, Harris remains the great-on-paper prospect who hasn’t proven the ability to win major league games.