Decryption | The erasure of Kamala Harris | La Presse

(New York) Early Saturday evening, the New Yorker came to the same conclusion as the New York Times and other renowned media or journalists. After his disastrous performance in the first presidential debate, Joe Biden must withdraw from the race for the White House.

Because if it does not lead to a change at the head of the Democratic ticket, this debate “could bring the country closer to a new Trump presidency and, with it, a decline in liberal democracy,” argued the prestigious weekly from the pen of its editor-in-chief, David Remnick¹.

“Staying in the race after this debate would also suggest that it’s impossible to imagine a more vital ticket. In fact, Gretchen Whitmer, Raphael Warnock, Josh Shapiro and Wes Moore are just a few of the party leaders who could energize Democrats and independents, inspire more younger voters and beat Trump.”

David Remnick thus added his name to those of the influential figures who are calling on Joe Biden to step down while refusing to name Kamala Harris among the potential replacements.

The most qualified

The erasure of the vice-president by a large part of the American media and political elite, at this point in the race for the White House, is remarkable.

After all, Kamala Harris would be the most logical choice to replace Joe Biden. As vice president, the former senator and attorney general of California is, by definition, the ideal person to fill this role. After three and a half years as the president’s right-hand woman, she is also the most qualified person. In recent months, she has represented the United States at several international summits.

On the other hand, the vice-president remains the Democrats’ favorite among potential replacement candidates, despite deserved or exaggerated criticism regarding her work or her personality. According to a snap survey by Data for Progress² The day after the debate, a plurality of Democrats (39%) would like to see her replace Joe Biden if he steps down, ahead of California Gov. Gavin Newsom (18%), Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg (10%), New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker (7%) and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (6%), among others.

According to the same poll, Kamala Harris also received 45% of voting intentions compared to 48% for Donald Trump, the same percentage as Joe Biden. All the other elected Democrats mentioned by the pollster are 2 or 3 percentage points behind the former Republican president.

In short, none of the up-and-coming Democrats are more popular than Kamala Harris with Democrats or the electorate as a whole. Would they become more popular if they were better known? Perhaps. In the meantime, the question arises: where does the media and political elite erase Kamala Harris from their role? Is it due to the fear of betting on a woman of color?

In a curious twist, Joe Biden may have contributed to this erasure. In early 2023, his inner circle suggested that the president had decided to seek a second term in part because he did not believe his vice president could beat Donald Trump.

Sent to the front

However, after the Atlanta fiasco, his advisors brought out the same excuse to explain his refusal to withdraw from the race, according to the news site Axios³. They assume that the scenarios outlined by David Remnick and others who would like to erase Kamala Harris do not hold water. According to them, if the Democratic Party were to replace the president, its activists would never turn their backs on the first female vice president in the history of the United States, a woman of color at that.

But such a woman would be no match for Donald Trump, they repeat on condition of anonymity.

The (bitter) irony of the situation should not escape Kamala Harris. Because at the same time, she is called upon to play a more crucial role than ever in Joe Biden’s re-election campaign.

Last Thursday evening, for example, she was the one sent to the front to defend the president on CNN after the debate.

“I understand what you’re saying about an hour and a half debate tonight,” the vice president said in the middle of a tense exchange with moderator Anderson Cooper, who was hounding her over her boss’s poor performance.

She attempted to reframe the discussion on the lies told by Donald Trump during the debate. She decried his defense of the January 6 insurgents and his refusal to promise to accept the results of the 2024 presidential election.

“All of that may be true, but the President of the United States was unable to make his case to Donald Trump on stage,” Anderson Cooper countered.

The abortion issue

This was particularly evident on abortion, a subject which has allowed Kamala Harris to prove its usefulness and effectiveness since the Supreme Court’s decision to repeal the ruling Roe c. Wadein June 2022.

In one of his most incoherent interventions of the debate, Joe Biden addressed this major theme of his campaign in the following way: “I have supported Roe c. Wadewhich had three terms. The first time, it was between a woman and a doctor. The second time, it was between the doctor and an extreme situation. And the third time, it was between the doctor – I mean, between the woman and the state.

Like millions of Democrats, Kamala Harris must have received these nonsensical remarks like a blow to the gut. She showed nothing of it during her interview on CNN. And she hit the road the next day to go to Las Vegas, where she continued her attacks from the day before against Donald Trump.

“He doesn’t have the character to be president,” she told a partisan crowd.

Did it occur to her, as she said these words, that the president and his advisors also doubt her?

1. Read the editorial of New Yorker “The Reckoning of Joe Biden” (in English, subscription required)

2. Check out the Data for Progress pulse survey results

3. Lisez l’article d’Axios « Behind the Curtain : Biden oligarchy will decide fate »