Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a ceremony for student athletes outside the White House, Washington, D.C., July 22, 2024 (Reuters)
With Biden’s Departure, The US Presidential Election Has Been Reset
UPDATE, JULY 24:
I chatted with Monocle Radio’s Andrew Mueller on Wednesday about a strong start to Kamala Harris’s Presidential campaign, including her speech on Tuesday in Wisconsin.
She hit all the right notes. Indeed, she has hit all the right notes since Sunday, when Joe Biden stepped aside.
I explain why the significance is not to “budge” voters who are already bedded in with Trump or with the Democrats, but to motivate a “fairly large group in the middle who haven’t decided yet”.
And we discuss the response to Donald Trump’s insults and attempts to demean Harris: does she rise above it or respond forcefully?
You do both. And you put the question to voters, “Is misogyny and hatred of women really where you want to go as a nation?”
UPDATE, JULY 23:
I joined a panel on Virgin Media TV’s Tonight Show on Monday night in a 41-minute discussion of Kamala Harris’s candidacy and Joe Biden’s legacy.
I was in studio with Harry Browne of Technological University Dublin and host Ciara Doherty. Joining us online were Ambassador Dan Mulhall, Democratic strategist Nicole Brener-Schmitz, and Trumpist activist Jennifer Ewing.
We consider if the Democrats are unified around the elevation of Harris. We evaluate the likely approach of the Harris campaign to issue and to Trump’s character, with the narrative of prosecutor v. criminal felon.
And I cut through the disinformation, illustrated by Ewing, of the Trump camp.
You gave us a snapshot of what they are going to do. That’s a very rattled Trump spokesperson putting out conspiracy theories.
I asked Ewing if she agreed with Trump’s insult of Harris as “Laughing Kamala. She’s crazy. She’s nuts”, as “a campaign tactic where the votes of women will be vital”.
The Trumpist activist answered with a rambling diversion, insulting Harris supporters as “low-information voters”.
Watch The Discussion
ORIGINAL ENTRY, JULY 22: I joined international media throughout Monday to analyze the significance for the 2024 US Presidential election, and for the future of America, of President Joe Biden’s withdrawal as Democratic nominee with Vice President Kamala Harris as his likely successor.
Watch France 24 English
I discuss the preparations for Harris to be confirmed, rather than facing a contest, at the Democratic National Convention; the possibilities for her Vice Presidential running mate; and how Harris is now free of the shackles put on her by the Biden White House.
Now Biden has stepped aside, she has the space to establish her profile, to establish her policies, to establish her record in the Administration and its achievements.
If this campaign focuses on issues rather than spectacle, she gets a further boost.
Listen to Dublin NewsTalk
A 9-minute discussion on The Pat Kenny Show, following a series of vox pops from voters, about the path for Democrats to take advantage of the “election reset” with Harris as Presidential candidate:
I don’t see a heavyweight contender against her, given the Democrats’ double message of “unity”: unity within the party, and unifying America against the Trump threat to the country and the American system.
I review Harris’s move from the shadows to the campaign platform, and the Trump tactics to attack her.
Listen to RTE Radio 1 from 59:12
Matthew Schmidt of the University of New Haven and I chat with Philip Boucher-Hayes discuss whether the election will turn upon spectacle or issues, and how Harris can maneuver to defeat Trump.
For swing voters, when two-thirds of Americans support going back to Roe v. Wade [on reproductive rights] and given how important votes of women were in 2020 election, that is the key advantage Harris has.
Listen to BBC Radio Ulster from 1:14.12
I joined historian Catherine Clinton of University of Texas, San Antonio to establish the context for Joe Biden’s withdrawal and Kamala Harris’s ascendancy as the Democratic candidate, assessing the prospects for her campaign.
The former prosecutor v. the convicted felon, who tried to hold power through an attempted coup in 2021 — that’s a powerful narrative you can carry through the next 3 1/2 months.
Listen to BBC Radio Scotland from 36:55
I set out Kamala Harris’s career and rise in politics, explaining why she was “put into the background” by the Biden team when the President decided to run for a second term.
I review the sudden change as Biden stood aside, and what Harris needs to do to establish her campaign. And I note the risk for Donald Trump in facing a new opponent.
He is already trying to demean her through insults. He’s calling her “Laughing Kamala”, as if having a boisterous laugh makes her a horrible candidate. He’s lying that she is not competent.
I think he runs the risk of appearing misogynist and turning off women voters. I don’t think he repeat the tactics of 2016 when he defeated Hillary Clinton.
Listen to BBC World Service from 45:27
I set Biden’s withdrawal in historical context, including President Lyndon Johnson stepping aside in 1968, and the unprecedented nature of the campaign and its issues this year.
America has a damaged political culture. We could talk about social media, polarization, racial issues, and issues around immigration and the stigmatizing of foreigners.
All of that was in the mix in 2016 and Trump took advantage of this. But others were complicit, including the US media.
Now that media has a chance to make amends.
Kamala Harris steps up as Biden steps aside. Exciting new chapter for the 2024 race! ✨ #Election2024
With a Harris administration, we are likely to see a continuation of the same disastrous policies of the Biden administration, especially foreign policy. Is it any wonder that more and more Americans are seeking a second passport? I have fond memories of my one week stay in County Clare in 1981. It was beautiful. Just like the postcards. Imagine living in a country that is not only at peace with its neighbors; it is at peace with itself. Hmmm….. Well, for the lucky ones like Dr. Scott Lucas, the dream has become real.