Kamala Harris is a more formidable opponent for Trump

The Spectator ^ | 07/21/2024 | Jacob Heilbrunn

[SeekAndFind]

On Sunday Joe Biden bowed to the inevitable in withdrawing from the presidential race and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris. Only now has the presidential race become interesting as the fifty-nine-year-old Harris, more than likely to receive the Democratic nomination, prepares to face off against Donald Trump. Suddenly the Republican candidate has become the old codger in the race while the Democratic one represents generational change. Trump, you could even say, has become yesterday’s news. 

https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1815087772216303933

"My fellow Democrats, I have decided not to accept the nomination and to focus all my energies on my duties as President for the remainder of my term. My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. And it’s been the best decision I’ve made. Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this."

- Joe Biden @JoeBiden 2:13 PM · Jul 21, 2024

This is why Republicans would be wise not to underestimate Harris, a former federal prosecutor and California senator whose early years…

On Sunday Joe Biden bowed to the inevitable in withdrawing from the presidential race and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris. Only now has the presidential race become interesting as the fifty-nine-year-old Harris, more than likely to receive the Democratic nomination, prepares to face off against Donald Trump. Suddenly the Republican candidate has become the old codger in the race while the Democratic one represents generational change. Trump, you could even say, has become yesterday’s news. 

My fellow Democrats, I have decided not to accept the nomination and to focus all my energies on my duties as President for the remainder of my term. My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. And it’s been the best… pic.twitter.com/x8DnvuImJV

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 21, 2024

This is why Republicans would be wise not to underestimate Harris, a former federal prosecutor and California senator whose early years as vice president were marked, among other things, by public scrutiny of her staff shake-ups. But that scrutiny appears to have toughened her up. Her public speaking skills, if her recent appearances are anything to go by, seem to have markedly improved. She will slash away at Trump on abortion — her pinned tweet states “More than 1 in 3 women of reproductive age live in a state with a Trump Abortion Ban — many with no exceptions for rape or incest” — and regularly invokes the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 as a direct menace to American democracy. The coming contest will demonstrate whether Harris truly grasps the adage that the best defense is a good offense.  

On Saturday, at a Provincetown, Massachusetts, fundraiser, Harris brought in double what was anticipated  — $2 million — and riled up the crowd with her declaration, “Those who oppose progress will always try to suggest that a movement for freedom is somehow subversive and it undermines who we are as a nation.” Trump will attack her record as Biden’s “border czar” but she can point to record lows in crossing the past few months. Her poll numbers, however, are nothing to brag about. FiveThirtyEight has Harris at a net approval rating of 38.6 percent. Then again Trump comes in not much better at 41.7 percent. In the battleground swing states, she doesn’t appear to poll that much better than Biden. 

Indeed, there was a funereal feel to the entire Biden campaign over the past week, especially after he announced that he had been stricken with Covid and would need to go into isolation. Immured in his Delaware vacation home, where he has been recuperating from a bout with Covid, Biden was unable to deliver the news of his withdrawal from the presidential race in person. Instead, he issued a written statement. “It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your president,” he wrote. “And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party, and my country for me to stand down and to focus solely on my duties as president for the rest of my term.”  

Just how will he focus solely on his duties? J.D. Vance, Trump’s running mate, has already declared on X that it’s hypocritical for Biden not to run and remain the commander-in-chief. William Ruger, who was nominated to become Trump’s ambassador to Afghanistan, observes that Biden is now the lamest of lame ducks. “He’s cast in the role of Franklin Pierce. Abandoned by his party, he’s not considered competent enough for the campaign let alone the job of president. Let’s hope that nothing significant happens internationally or economically on the rest of his watch.” 

The immediate author of Biden’s exit was former House speaker Nancy Pelosi who maneuvered from behind the scenes to shiv him by rallying legislators on Capitol Hill to call for his withdrawal. But the pebble that led to the avalanche was first thrown by Trump. It was Trump who, in a sense, overperformed during the presidential debate with Biden. No line was more telling than Trump’s observation, “I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence. I don’t think he knows what he said either.”  

With the Democrats boldly disposing of Biden, they will now enjoy the glare of the spotlight. The media will be fixated with a new cast of characters. How will Harris capture the nomination? Whom does she pick for her vice president? Who will serve as her campaign manager? Can Harris make the case that Biden policies are responsible for low interest rates and record low unemployment, while exciting the minority and female voters that Trump was hoping to woo?  

Poor Trump. He will pout and fume and rage and expostulate. But his salad days are over. With Biden gone, he’s going to have to fight for the presidency rather than glide to victory.

[21twelve]

Kamala’s parents are Jamaican and dot-Indian.

I thought viewing some recent speeches of hers would be enlightening. (Well - not the actual speeches, but watching her.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqcUcaQA92s&list=RDNSxqcUcaQA92s&start_radio=1

As much as we make fun of her - she does okay in this speech. At least with her speaking (a bit shrill). She was a prosecuting attorney.

And she is good at telling lies. Says Project 2025 is Trump’s plan, Trump banned abortion and wants to ban birth control! (That is probably in Project 2025).

Don’t sleep on evil.

[Rummyfan]

She’s such a formidable candidate that In 2020 she dropped out of the race before a single vote was cast.

[MNnice]

Only because she’s not overtly senile.

[Sirius Lee]

“Formidable”. Let the gaslighting commence.

[dennisw]

[Billie Bud]

Kamala is no more or less formidable for the low information, cult follower voters the left has managed to craft from the education system they completely own and run in this country.

[butlerweave]

The Harris Hype has started ,LOL

[DCBryan1]

Spit on that thang, Kamela!

[Vaduz]

Sounds like some at The Spectator is looking for some long term touch fest.

[38special]

All according to the script...

[sergeantdave]

And the hand-wringing begins...fluff up the fainting couch, dear.

[38special]

That’s how Joe “won”

[frank ballenger]

RE: Biden. They’re already comparing him to Washington.

Imagine if the real George Washington had put off Valley Forge or Crossing the Delaware due to their being out of his effective cognitive hours. He had horses shot out from under him in battle and bullet holes in his hat and coat.

Hard to tell him apart from Joe Biden. /SARC

[ThePatriotsFlag]

We are in a honeymoon period for Harris. When it is over, people will suddenly remember why her polling rating was even lower than Joe Biden’s. She has done nothing, and has actually failed on certain public assignments. The “honeymoon” doesn’t bother me, it is expected. The truth will settle in and wipe her out. I’m betting she won’t even be the nominee.

[Bob Wills is still the king]

“She is going to claim Trump raped her.

She dosn’t know when or where, it was so tramatic.

With Trump’s past women charges, this is just more of his same vile activity.

More formidable because Joe could not make such claims (but he would if the teleprompter said so).”

__________________________________________________________

Probably not, but you can count on her telling us how many sexual predators she has successfully prosecuted, followed by a claim that Trump is a sexual predator. She’s probably got some other nasty things planned as well.

[lepton]

Kamala Harris is a more formidable opponent for Trump

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To an extent this is true, as she has very little history in acts as VP. If they can keep away the scrutiny of her acts as California AG, they can pretty much hide behind the nearly blank slate which is her time as VP.

[Danie_2023]

“To an extent this is true, as she has very little history in acts as VP. If they can keep away the scrutiny of her acts as California AG, they can pretty much hide behind the nearly blank slate which is her time as VP.”

Then again... a history of nothing but a blank slate for the highest position in the nation and for the most powerful leadership position in the world... is probably going to be a major obstacle for Harris.

Add to that all of the negatives she has on that slate from prior to being VP, and her failures as Border Czar and other tasks as VP, and I really don’t think most Americans would trust her as President.

It will all depend on who they get as her running mate. That’s what we need to worry about, if anything.

[lepton]

Harris couldn’t muster a single delegate during the 2020 primary. What makes people think she will suddenly become a shining beacon of a candidate now?

---

Media celebretization. The same way Biden was even in the race in 2020. Her lack of relevant history, to the extent that her time as California AG can be minimized, is an asset for this.

[lepton]

She dropped out before the first primary, and ended up getting around 850 votes.

[lepton]

Kamala herself is 3/4 Caucasian.

---

She’s largely Indian, with the other side being a mixed Jamaican.