The vice-president of the US, Kamala Harris. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
On Sunday, 21 July President Joe Biden announced he will no longer be seeking re-election at the end of his term in November 2024. This decision came about after his dismal performance during the presidential debate against his opponent, Donald Trump.
He appeared clueless, slow and forgetful during the debate. After that performance, it became crystal clear to the Democrats that going into the November elections with Biden as the standard bearer of the party was suicidal.
Calls for the president to step down from this race were intensified both in his party and from outside. At this point, most Americans became convinced that Biden was not physically or mentally equipped to continue serving as commander-in-chief. Therefore, the Democrats’ long-term plan of manufacturing an ideal candidate, which has been long overdue, had to kick in. And that perfect candidate for the party and the ruling elite could be no other than Vice-President Kamala Harris.
It took Biden not more than an hour to endorse Harris, followed within hours by Bill and Hillary Clinton’s endorsements of her. We are told that 63% of these donors apparently are “unique” or first-time contributors. By day three of Kamala fever, she had received endorsements from 10 governors, 32 senators and 156 members of the House of Representatives. But Harris had previously scored poorly in comparison with Biden as a potential presidential candidate. In the midst of all these early endorsements, one important endorsement she was yet to secure was that of former president Barack Obama.
Initially, Obama did not endorse the vice-president, and instead said “the party will be navigating uncharted waters in the days ahead”, adding that he was “extraordinarily confident that the leaders of the party will be able to create a process from which an outstanding nominee emerges”. This reaction seemed to suggest that the former president was conflicted between either endorsing Harris right away or holding an open party convention in Chicago — as happened in 1968, when the Democrats’ standard bearer and US president Lyndon B Jonhson decided not to seek a second term. The current party leaders did not wait for the committee on the party rules to meet and provide guidance. It was scheduled to meet on Wednesday 24 July, but it was pointless to go ahead with the meeting because the endorsements for Kamala kept coming in.
If democracy has some meaning within the Democratic Party internal processes, this should have been the moment to demonstrate that and take a path that allows for competition for the top job. For all we know, such endorsements can be influenced by corporate interests, or can be traded off for a promise from the establishment or the candidate.
The Michelle and Barack Obama endorsement for Harris came through on the fifth day after she was put forward by Biden. This was exactly what she was waiting for. Interestingly the Democrats are talking about having a virtual roll call of delegates, just to make sure that Harris secures the nomination before the Democratic National Convention on 19 August in Chicago. Definitely a rushed move, and a much less democratic process than what an open convention could have offered.
As a protégé of the Clintons it makes perfect sense that they were one of the first Democrats to endorse her, just as they threw their weight and machinery behind her when she was running as a presidential candidate in 2019. There is good reason to believe that Harris has been a project of the Democratic Party for a long time. This is why they prevailed on Biden to settle for her as the running mate and subsequently became the vice-president. Simply put, Harris meets all the criteria and ticks all the boxes of an ideal politician for the liberals who are obsessed with identity politics, at the expense of addressing real issues affecting the American people. Someone like her passes for a long-awaited first woman president of the US, especially as she is a woman of colour. It is an open secret that Harris is a manufactured candidate for the 2024 elections, strategically placed by the Democrats because they are desperate to break the glass ceiling and make history once again — just as they did by producing the first black president in Obama.
The real question is whether Harris has what it takes to defeat the Trump and JD Vance ticket. A victory by Harris will depend on a few factors including her choice for running mate. In 2016, Hillary Clinton made a terrible choice for a running mate, and that partly contributed to her terrible loss to Trump. She should stay away from influencing the choice of a running mate for Harris come 7 August. This is hard to see because she has mentored and aided Kamala for years.
Second, the Democrats have lost their traditional base as a party of the working class. They seem to be more focused on identity politics of race, gender and all the other woke stuff. Thus there is a need for Kamala and her party to do a serious introspection and come up with a message of the moment.
Third, the only way to defeat Trump is to energise the average white middle and working class, and in this regard Harris will need to get as much help as she can get. Trump is really strong with this demographic. His message of making America great again, which speaks to jobs and a decent livelihood, resonates with many.
Last, even though Harris is a manufactured candidate, she needs to project herself to the people as someone who can stand on her own without relying on endorsements. That she will get support from Clinton, Obama and Biden is great but, if mishandled, this can project a negative image of her as being weak or incapable of defeating Trump without being held by her hand by three of the most powerful men of our time.
Aaron Ng’ambi is a geopolitical analyst and newspaper columnist, leadership instructor and a social entrepreneur.