The sudden announcement made by US President Joe Biden, withdrawing from the race for the presidential elections scheduled for next November, and supporting his deputy Kamala Harris as a candidate for the Democratic Party, raised questions within America about her chances in facing Republican candidate Donald Trump. But would Harris be the best choice?
American analysts believe that Harris is the best choice for the Democrats at the present time, especially since she performed well during her term as Biden’s deputy, as well as being the appropriate solution for donors to use the donations collected by the current president’s campaign to move forward in the elections.
Would Harris be the best choice?
A new poll conducted by the Up-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research previously showed that about 6 out of 10 Democrats believe that Kamala Harris will do a good job as president.
While about 2 in 10 Democrats don't think she will, and another 2 in 10 say they don't know enough to say.
Since Biden lost the debate to Trump on June 27, many Democrats have been privately and even publicly looking to Harris to step in and succeed Biden as the party's presidential nominee, believing she has a better chance against GOP nominee Donald Trump.
For her part, Harris has remained completely loyal to Biden, being one of his staunchest defenders in the wake of the disastrous debate performance.
If Harris (59 years old), a former US Senator and former California Attorney General, becomes the Democratic Party's nominee and wins the November 5 elections, she will be the first female president in the history of the United States. She is currently the first African American and Asian American to hold the position of Vice President.
The Trump campaign anticipated Biden's decision to prepare to launch a media attack targeting Kamala Harris in preparation for the Democratic candidate to abandon the presidential candidacy, according to the New York Times.
The "strongest" among the Democrats
The American academic and political analyst, Ihsan Al-Khatib, considered Kamala Harris to be the “strongest” among the Democratic Party candidates, and the best option to get out of the current crisis.
Al-Khatib explained that if Harris is not agreed upon and the nomination is opened at the party conference, “this will be a return to war between the centrists and the progressives” within the party, which will affect the party’s chances of success in the elections.
He pointed out that Harris' chances will be much greater than Biden's chances of success, as her being a minority woman "may arouse the enthusiasm of the Democratic base with the symbolism and history of this nomination."
Regarding the challenges and obstacles that Harris will face, Al-Khatib believes that “the Republican Party will attack her with Biden’s record on borders, inflation, and the economy,” stressing that “Biden’s record is her record.”
Donation money crisis
Many analysts believe that Harris's nomination will solve the crisis of fundraising funds collected by the Biden campaign for the presidential elections, as the Democratic campaign may face several lawsuits if another candidate is nominated for the elections, since that money was collected for the "Biden-Harris" campaign.
Al-Khatib stressed that Harris "is the best choice for the Democrats, especially for the money that Biden has collected."
The head of the American Middle East Alliance, Tom Harb, agreed with this, and confirmed that all the donations collected by the Democratic Party were allocated to the campaign of Biden and his deputy, and therefore it will be difficult to transfer them to another candidate.
Harb stressed that laws in US states prohibit the use of this money for anything other than its primary purpose, and the Democratic Party may face lawsuits from donors or supporters of the Republican Party if another candidate other than Harris emerges to succeed Biden.
"Time" challenge
Harris will face a very difficult challenge, especially given the time factor, as she only has three and a half months left to prepare her election campaign, unite her party’s supporters and donors, and present her full vision to the American people, which represents additional pressure on her.
In turn, member of the Democratic Party, Mahdi Afifi, speaking to Sky News Arabia, considered that the issue of Harris’ nomination for the Democratic Party has not been largely resolved, and that discussions will take place within the next party conference in late August.
Afifi explained that Harris will work to mobilize the support of the Democrats and present her vision and ability to “lead the United States for the next 4 years” until she obtains the official nomination, in front of a difficult and stubborn competitor.
Racial discrimination will also be one of the most prominent challenges facing Harris on her path to the White House, according to analysts.
This debate is escalating, even though the term of Harris, the first woman and vice president of color, has been marked by criticism of her political skills.
Recently, Harris became the main official in the US administration regarding the abortion crisis. She was also appointed responsible for the White House Office to Prevent Armed Violence, and she also plays a prominent role in the White House’s handling of the war in Gaza.
What happened?
Biden ended his attempt to run in the 2024 presidential elections after a debate that was described as “disastrous” and raised doubts about his fitness to run for another four years in office, as he announced his withdrawal from the presidential elections.
“I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to step back and focus solely on performing my duties as president for the rest of my term,” Biden said.
Biden again announced his support for Kamala Harris as the Democratic Party's candidate for the presidential elections, and Biden also called on his supporters to donate to his vice president's campaign.
On the other hand, former US President Donald Trump considered that defeating Kamala Harris would be easier for him, adding to CNN that Biden is the worst president in the history of the United States "and has been considered the worst president ever in the history of our country."
Democrats' pressure on Biden increased after the first "disastrous debate" held at the end of last June, to the point that prompted many of his senior supporters to criticize him, including former President Barack Obama, who informed his allies in recent days that Biden's path to victory had been "significantly reduced." ".
Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, warned Biden that his party would lose control of the House of Representatives if Biden did not stay away from the presidential election race.
Source: Sky News Arabia
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