2024-07-23 16:19:39
When US President Joe Biden announced on Sunday that he would not seek a mandate, he satisfied many in his party who feared that he would not last another four years in office. It also caused chaos among rivals from the Republican Party, who now certainly do not know who will oppose them in the race for the White House and how best to attack the new rival. The most serious candidate is Biden’s vice president, Kamala Harris.
Ex-President Donald Trump’s entire campaign so far has focused on ridiculing President Biden. In his speeches, he called him “sleepy Joe” and the Republican Party constantly referred to Biden’s age, saying that at 81 he is no longer able to hold office and should not run. At the same time, Trump is only three years younger.
But that changed after the presidential debate in late June, when President Biden performed so poorly that Democrats began pressuring him not to run again. Trump’s campaign, on the other hand, issued an internal directive last month that its employees should not publicly join the Democrats’ effort to get Biden to resign. According to the findings of The Guardian, they were worried that this might actually happen in the end.
Although it is not yet 100% certain who will replace Biden, Vice President Harris has his support. On Tuesday, the American media, citing sources from the election staff and their own calculations, reported that he already had a sufficient number of delegates to secure the nomination.
Christopher Borick, professor of political science at Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania, explains to Aktuálně.cz that Harris presents a different challenge to Trump compared to Biden, and she may be a tougher opponent for him in the November elections than the current president.
According to an American political scientist, Joe Biden’s biggest weakness was his age. But now Donald Trump has become the oldest presidential candidate in the history of the United States. “I think Trump’s line of attack on Biden’s age will backfire to some extent on himself. He certainly sometimes behaves in a way that raises those exact concerns. And while the public doesn’t worry about Trump’s age as much as Biden’s, it may turn out that the comparison with Harris will be difficult for the Republican ex-president,” he adds.
Millions of dollars wasted
Additionally, Trump supporters have already spent millions of dollars on ads attacking Biden. The last time they spent money on them was last week. But all that spending came to naught on Sunday after Biden’s announcement. The fact that the president withdrew from the fight is, according to people from Trump’s team, the worst thing that could happen to the ex-president during the campaign.
In addition, Republicans and conservative organizations now do not know at which of the Democrats to direct their attacks. Although Harris already has sufficient support from the parties, she has not yet officially received the nomination. Chaos is now experienced not only by the Democrats, but also by the Republicans, who have no further course of action ready. According to the American media, however, they also count on the fact that Biden’s vice president is the most likely candidate.
“Did you hear her laugh? You can tell a lot about people by their laughter, and she’s crazy. She’s crazy,” Trump said about her at a meeting with voters on Saturday, before Biden’s decision to step down.
Republicans have also begun prepping new political ads mocking Harris. She is trying to show that as vice president she bears the same responsibility as Biden for everything that Republicans say is wrong in the United States today.
Border with Mexico
“On some key issues, the dynamics will remain similar. But Harris has some distinct strengths and weaknesses compared to Biden that will change Trump’s campaign strategy,” Borick says. Harris’ weakest point is the situation on the border with Mexico.
In March 2021, Biden officially commissioned her to work with Mexico and Latin American countries to try to figure out how to reduce the flow of refugees to the US. The vice president was supposed to solve the problems leading to the influx of tens of thousands of migrants on a diplomatic level. But according to Republicans, she should have stopped migration, which she failed to do.
“The best possible scenario for Trump right now would be if issues like the border situation and inflation weigh on Harris, just as they have on Biden. It could undermine her campaign,” Borick believes.
Even so, according to him, Harris has a solid hope of winning the presidential election. “In the end, she has a better chance of energizing Democratic voters in the fall than a very weakened Biden. It certainly won’t be easy, and Trump may still have the advantage, but she has options that Biden just didn’t have,” he concludes.
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