The editorial board of The New York Times (NYT) is calling for Vice President Kamala Harris to be removed from the 2024 ticket due to serious doubts about her ability to win the election. This move comes shortly after President Joe Biden declared that he would not seek re-election in 2024, and it has the potential to impact Democratic voter turnout in the upcoming November election.
The board initially offered some introductory compliments for Biden:
“By agreeing to step down when his term ends in January, he is greatly increasing the chance that his party is able to protect the nation from the dangers of returning Donald Trump to the presidency.”
Then it dropped the hammer:
“Choosing Ms. Harris would be a reasonable path for Democrats to take; she has been Mr. Biden’s running mate, and while no votes were cast for her as a presidential candidate in primaries, the president’s voters expected her to be on the ticket in November. Nonetheless, party delegates should have a voice in a decision of this consequence. There are other qualified Democrats who could take on Mr. Trump and win, and picking a candidate without a real contest is how the party got into a position of anointing a standard-bearer that large majorities of Democrats and independents had profound concerns about. While the hour is late, there is still time to put leading candidates through a process of public scrutiny before the party’s nominating convention begins on Aug. 19, to inform the choice of a nominee and to build public support.”
The New York Times’ swift move to downgrade Harris following Biden’s departure clarifies why numerous black politicians were openly supportive of retaining the Biden-Harris duo for the 2024 election. According to a report by TheHill.com on July 8th:
“Members of the Congressional Black Caucus are throwing their support behind President Biden as a growing number of Democrats call for him to suspend his 2024 campaign. On Sunday, Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.) issued a sharp rebuttal of those calling for Biden to step aside. “Any ‘leader’ calling for President Biden to drop out needs to get their priorities straight and stop undermining this incredible actual leader who has delivered real results for our country,” Wilson said in a statement. “And when you contrast that with a dangerous figure like Donald Trump pushing a radical agenda to be dictator on day one and destroy our democracy, we must do everything in our power to defeat him; Joe Biden and Kamala Harris is the ticket to do just that.”’
