Vice President Kamala Harris is facing increasing scrutiny following reports that her boss, President Joe Biden, is displaying “diminished mental faculties” and is an “elderly man with a poor memory.” Just two days before a Department of Justice (DOJ) report regarding Biden’s handling of classified documents dropped, the Vice President was asked by the press aboard Air Force Two whether she needed to prove her leadership skills to voters in the event she is needed to replace Biden as the Democrat presidential nominee.
“I am ready to serve,” Harris said, adding: “There’s no question about that.” Defending her ability to lead, the Vice President said anyone who has worked with her “…walks away fully aware of my capacity to lead.”
White House staff are believed to have had access to the DOJ report as much as a week prior to its release, meaning Harris would have known of its contents when making her comments.
Questions over the 81-year-old Biden’s ability to run for re-election have sparked speculation as to who might replace him. Names like Michelle Obama and even Oprah have been floated. The most likely scenario is that the President would be replaced by his Vice-President, Kamala Harris.
Harris, who is over two decades younger than Biden at 59, will have to assuage Democrat leadership’s concerns over her own history of gaffes and outlandish statements. Republicans, for their part, are looking to take advantage of the void in leadership created by concerns about Biden’s health and uncertainty that Harris can handle the presidency. On the campaign trail, they’ve emphasized that a ‘vote for Biden is a vote for Harris.’
The Vice President has recently seen a bump in day-to-day work as part of the Biden government and appearances on the campaign trail. Increasingly, she has leaned into the abortion issue in her campaign rhetoric – one of the few policy areas Harris appears most comfortable discussing. Should Harris have to replace Biden as the nominee, she is likely to try and make 2024 a referendum on women’s health – with abortion being the core issue of her campaign.
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